Welcome to the course site for RPW 230 Problem Solving in Professional & Technical Writing. The SVSU Catalog describes this as a course about how professionals in the field of technical communication frame and address the challenges associated with information design.
The SVSU Course Catalog description of Problem Solving in PTW.
An exploration of the problems technical writers face in the workplace. Focus on key genres and processes for technical writing, including (but not limited to) research, information design, and linkages between theory and practice.
Writing has always been a complex activity. Economic forces, industrial evolution, technological development, and cultural change all impact the way we share information. The discipline of Technical Communication (the core academic field of study that focuses on writing and design in professional settings) has itself transformed over time. We now more often talk about what we do as information design rather than as writing. Written communication is still very much at the core of what you will do in this course, but we will explore a variety of linked strategies that redefine writing in ways that are both appropriate and contemporary. In light of such developments, I have constructed this course to work toward the following learning objectives.
Student preparation and motivation have become recurring themes of conversation among educators since the pandemic. For understandable reasons, students were challenged to keep themselves motivated to learn and achieve during that time, especially during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years. People came away from that experience with radically mixed results. In many ways, the system failed you. Keep in mind that it failed teachers in countless ways as well.
Like many people in positions like mine, I assumed our educational system would have had more success at re-establishing core teaching and learning processes by now. Instead, we struggle to defeat the soul-sucking apathy that still lurks in the shadowy corners of our classrooms, just waiting to disrupt you somehow. Although students and educators alike strive to adapt to the altered context we now find ourselves navigating, we continue to observe inconsistent impacts and outcomes.
To be clear, I do not agree at all with the voices who suggest that students today are just not capable of the same quality of work that students yesterday demonstrated during their academic careers. Although I too have observed that students struggle more now with some scholarly activities (e.g., working with source material, engaging deeply with difficult texts), you and your peers are notably stronger than your predecessors in some areas, including technology use and public speaking. However, I added this segment to our course materials to acknowledge that I understand that we are all in some ways still finding our way in the changing landscape of higher ed in the 2020s, and to issue a call to action for all who enroll in courses with me.
We must strive semester after semester to do better. That means me as well. I continuously evolve my courses in my attempt to adapt. I have generally replaced traditional textbooks with curated content from smart scholars and experienced professionals. I gather materials in multiple formats: digital books; audio books; articles; knowledge bases; podcasts; videos. Although I have never been a professor who relied on quizzing students or who concocted assignments just to keep students busy, I have invested even more deeply in designing meaningful challenges that offer you opportunities to grow and refine your design toolkit and to engage in knowledge-making and skill-building. I dedicate far more class time to action than to lecture. I still share my knowledge and experience, of course. However, design teams that wrestle with meaningful problems provide the base experience for many of my courses now.
That brings me to your part in this professional development narrative ... . There may be course design decisions I make that inspire you to invest or engage. However, I know from experience that what I do may be hit or miss for you. The challenge for you is to find your own motivation, even when my choices generate energy and interest, but especially when you are not excited by the work ahead of you. I hope that the problems you get to invest in spark something in you. But the journey will always include work that is less exciting: reading, listening, watching, doing. You have to push yourself to dig in when the materials and tasks I put in front of you are not exciting or inspiring. I promise I will never make you read anything without a reason. I will never ask you to invest in something for which there is no professional development value or without some meaningful return. I cannot promise that everything will be fun, and I will guarantee that many things will be difficult and challenging. Do your part. Invest. Engage. Ask yourself if you need to do so ... why are we doing this? and consider the possible responses. Look for the value in what you encounter, and strive to take every bit of possibility from it that you can.
This course requires you to have access to the following textbook.
Do not purchase an earlier edition. The 2013 edition is significantly different than the original edition. If you purchased an older version of the text, you will need to exchange it for the current version. The good news is that it is not an expensive purchase.
I will assign readings, listenings, and viewings from other sources as well. I will provide or direct you to materials for these assignments through our course space in SVSU Canvas.
To support your work here this semester, you will use the following services, tools, and technologies.
Read on here in this section for some of the details of what I mean for a computer to be fully equipped. If you do not have access to the design software I list below, you'll need to either acquire what you need (SVSU supports student use of some, but not all of the packages it provides through labs), or you'll need to plan to work in SVSU computing facilities. As I said a moment ago, even a Chromebook will fall short of your needs this semester here. These under-powered computers do not support the use of professional-grade design packages.
Note. I strongly recommend that you install Dropbox on your computer if you have one. The service is much more easily navigated from a computer desktop than it is from a browser window. If you try to do anything other than view documents from a tablet or smartphone, you will likely be rather frustrated.
Visit the Figma website to create an account, if you do not already have one. Then visit the Education page (https://www.figma.com/education/) to submit your request for a free student bump to your account. Use the Get verified button to do so.
Although you will use several communication tools and technologies during your work this semester, all of these things are either available through SVSU, or are available to you for free. If you have questions about such details, please follow up with me. Among the most important priorities in your professional development should be identifying successful strategies for acquiring and refining technological knowledge, and finding comfort in learning new tools and processes. If technology intimidates you in any way, then emphasize achieving this professional goal this semester.
Some of the work you do might be made more convenient or easy if you have access to the following additional materials.
Because I serve as the Director of the RPW Audio and Video Production Studio, I am able to loan out audio and video equipment when assignments demand it. However, we do have limited resources, so you may want to consider purchasing your own equipment at some point. If you do so, please consider consulting with me when selecting equipment.