Technical writing knowledge transfer from first year composition to major courses

Author(s):  
Robert Weissbach ◽  
Ruth Pflueger
2020 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 26-36
Author(s):  
Shane A. McCoy

Conceptualized as writing for justice, I offer close-scrutiny and analyses of teaching artifacts that animate my course syllabi in order to understand how first-year composition (FYC) courses might function as a vehicle for advancing social justice. Specifically, this essay offers a framework for enabling students with the critical capacities to transfer social justice knowledge from the classroom to the street. With close readings of my curricula and borrowing from the scholarship on knowledge transfer studies (Bawarshi & Reiff 2011; Beaufort 2007; Yancey 2011), I bridge the theoretical framework of writing for justice to a practice of writing for justice in curriculum design and development. As I argue here, this aspect of the curriculum provides the framework for crafting a FYC curriculum that aims to transform undergraduate students’ cognitive schemas by forming new “impressions” (Ahmed 2004) of social justice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-375
Author(s):  
Rui Barreira

This paper reflects on a project run in a first-year class of art and design degree, in the Curricular Unit of Art and Design Theory. The objective of the project was to investigate the potential of a teaching protocol where a set of drawings were generated in class by the teacher to facilitate knowledge transfer in the classroom. The drawings generated by the teacher in class have not been treated or explored as a strategy as such, but they supported the delivery of theoretical content in the classroom. As part of the teaching theory protocol, a series of drawings were built as a sequential visual narrative, in the form of a story; these drawings, acting as visual narratives, sought to enable students to understand the theoretical content. At the end of the sessions, all students involved in the project were evaluated through surveys, to gather evidence of their understanding of theory. The results obtained suggest that the use of drawing as a tool in explaining theory facilitates a better understanding of theoretical concepts for students. It also allows the teacher to clarify and adjust unclear points in the lectures, and as such this protocol could function as a recursive strategy. In conclusion, the simplicity of this strategy could benefit students with cognitive difficulties, offering a complementary approach in the dialogue between teacher and student. This approach is particularly useful in contributing to the transfer of knowledge in the classroom in a digital age.


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