From page to stage: How theories of genre and situated learning help introduce engineering students to discipline‐specific communication
- 1 June 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Technical Communication Quarterly
- Vol. 8 (3), 301-316
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10572259909364670
Abstract
This article describes a discipline‐specific communication course for engineering students offered by a Canadian university. The pedagogy of this course is based on North American theories of genre and theories of situated learning. In keeping with these theories, the course provides a context in which students acquire rhetorical skills and strategies necessary to integrate into a discipline‐specific discourse community. The authors argue that such a pedagogical approach can be used to design communication courses tailored to the needs of any discipline if the following three key conditions are met: assignments are connected to subject matter courses, a dialogic environment is provided, and the nature of assignments allows students to build on their learning experiences in the course.Keywords
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