Course Description
This
course is intended to provide hands-on experience in technical writing and
editing for students in the Technical Communication track of the Communication
Arts major. Students in this track must complete either this course or CM 400
Internship in Communication. (It is very similar in structure to CM 400, though
CM 400 may involve students in a broader range of internship experiences than
CM 320, which focuses on technical writing and editing.) Technical
Communication practica take place in a real-world setting—a corporation,
nonprofit organization, or business. Most practica are unpaid, though paid
practica are permitted. The value of the practicum comes from (1) learning from
professional technical writers with experience, (2) doing work in technical
writing and editing, (3) reflecting on that work (critically evaluating that
work to better understand it), and (4) developing a portfolio and relationships
that may help land a job in the future. Practica are arranged on an individual
basis, sometimes in consultation with the Director of Business and Technical
Writing.
Course
Requirements
1. A completed and approved Internship Contract
form, which details who will supervise the practicum, when it will begin, and
what objectives are to be accomplished. This must be signed by the student, the
supervising faculty member, and the on-the-job supervisor.
2. Forty-five hours of on-the-job work for each
hour of credit. (Typically, this is 135 hours for the standard 3-hour course.)
3. A daily journal that includes the following:
a. A list of each day work and the hours
worked.
b. A description of the work done on
each work day.
c. A reflection
on the day’s work, including things such as what was learned, how the student’s
understanding of communication concepts and processes informs (or fails to
inform) his or her understanding of the work, and/or new ideas about
communication the student has reached by virtue of the work.
d. A portfolio
of samples of work (retained in paper or electronic form).
e. A final two
to three page summary statement about the practicum.
4. Weekly meetings with the faculty member overseeing
the practicum during the term, where problems, challenges, successes, and other
issues can be shared. (These are to be arranged with the course instructor.)
5. A final evaluation by the on-the-job
supervisor, using the evaluation form provided by the course instructor, and
delivered by the supervisor to the course instructor (through fax, sealed
envelope, email, or other means).
Outcomes
The course seeks to introduce students
to the field of technical writing and editing, giving them hands-on experience,
an opportunity to interact with people in the real world working in this area,
and an opportunity to build a portfolio.
Grading
The
final course grade is awarded by the course instructor. It is based equally
upon two things: (1) the student’s performance in the job and (2) the student’s
effective completion of the course requirements, including the daily journal,
the portfolio, and the six meetings with the course instructor. Student
performance on the job is judged based upon (a) the on-the-job supervisor’s
assessment and (b) evidence of completing practicum objectives (hours and
tasks) in the daily journal and portfolio. This overlaps with the assessment of
completing course requirements through a well-written daily journal, a strong
portfolio, and the meetings with the instructor though, in theory, a student
could do very well at work (as evidenced by high supervisor ratings) but
document it poorly in the daily journal and portfolio.
Addressing
a Problematic Practicum
Because
this course is reliant upon the cooperation of an outside organization to
ensure a productive educational experience for the student, the course
instructor must maintain some flexibility with regard to ending or reassigning
students in practica. Although it is rare, the course instructor might need to
end a practicum and reassign a student to another organization, or use an
incomplete to give a student more time to work through practicum.
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