"My
Year of Teaching...Dangerously"
By
Mike McGraw
Certificates and MA degrees from SDSU
Colleagues and friends who helped by doing informational interviews with my Spring 2002 students:
David Blyth
Judy Brown
Laura Bujarski
Pat Casey
Gail Dana
Judie Dresser
Richard Gleaves
Suzanne Hardy
Jim Hill
Chris Horton
Scott Kenyon
Aline McVicker
Kris Oden
Kathleen Pierce
Jackie Samuelson
Lorraine Stein
Diane Streckert
Paul Williamssen
Late again! Here I am, rushing across the pedestrian bridge to campus, arms loaded with papers, briefcase, and extra books. "Hey, you on the cell phone, watch out!"
I dodge past to East Commons for a Starbucks mocha, then grab my mail from the RWS office in Nasatir 227. Danger, Will Robinson, the stairs are covered with slick cards for tonight's "klub" events. If I can just fight my way through this herd of departing students, I'll be...ahhh, safe at last in my classroom, Storm Hall 243.
This past year, 2002, was my year of living on the edge—my "year of teaching dangerously." In mid-2001 fellow San Diego STC member Linn Bekins asked me to join her staff at San Diego State University to teach "Introduction to Technical Writing" (503W) in the Rhetoric & Writing Studies department's Scientific & Technical Writing (STW) certificate program. This program, directed in turn by Sherry Little, Cezar Ornatowski, and now Linn Bekins (STC-San Diego members all) is San Diego's principal source of newly-minted technical writers. In my year as an STW lecturer, I learned much about both teaching and technical communication.
Caught in the Revolving Door
Teaching and technical communication have close ties. Many technical writers are recovering K-12 teachers (I'll bet they're enrolled in a 7-step recovery program; we all know that 12 steps are way too many to remember). A few STC-San Diego members have returned to school to teach technical writing and editing. This list of gladiators includes Don Bush, Suzy Hosie, Sandra Chew, and Steve Margolin. Don and Suzy have both taught 503W at SDSU.
RWS 503W is a popular course at State. Because it satisfies the Upper Division Writing Requirement and is recommended by the Educational Technology and Public Admin/Urban Development programs, it's not unusual for 50-60 people to show up for the first night of a class that's limited to 25 students. However, a review of the syllabus and the administration of a writing competency test quickly winnow the class to a manageable 15-20 students. Four sections of 503W are available, so it's possible to have sections specially tailored for Ed Tech and professional/certificate students.
Preparing for Battle
So there I was, about to "do the teaching thing" in a 503W section for would-be professionals—a guy whose Achilles heel has always been public speaking. How was I going to face a room full of ravenous minds eager for instruction?
I planned as if for war. With the semester as my campaign and the classroom my battlefield, I prepared a Plan of Battle for each class. Then I donned plate armor made of handouts and in-class exercises, picked up a Chicago Manual broadaxe, and just waded in.
My class took place in a well-equipped computer lab, which opened up many teaching possibilities. Writing exercises and quizzes were done in Microsoft Word. The Internet, useful for research and examples, was a click away. I could show slides or demonstrate tool use on the centrally-controlled PCs. And if all that high tech stuff failed—which it occasionally did—I also had a whiteboard and a magic lantern (overhead projector).
For the fall class I adopted Kristin Woolever's Writing for the Technical Professions—in itself a great example of technical writing principles. For supplementary texts I used Robin Willams' zany but practical The PC Is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book, and Joseph Williams' Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. In the spring I assigned John Brogan's venerable Clear Technical Writing, but found it both expensive—$80 for a thin paperback—and out of date.
Expanding the Option Set
Amazing tools are available to teachers. In the spring I built a small Web site to make class assignments and related materials available online. Over the summer I discovered State's Blackboard (Bb) system. Bb lets teachers build sites accessible only to enrolled students. It expands interaction by providing a structured environment with group discussion boards, areas where subgroups can exchange ideas and files, a "virtual classroom" (live chat) area, and access to writing-related resources and online quizzes. In the fall I used both a Bb site and a Web site: http://www.rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/ drwswebb/classes/503w/sec3_Fall02/.
Many publishers now provide "course content modules" that can be installed in Bb or similar systems. These modules supplement textbooks and generally provide quizzes, extra readings, and access to related Web sites. Some publishers will host a teacher's course site on their own systems with preloaded content keyed to their textbooks.
Making It Up As You Go
No matter how much content is available, you still have to read the textbook and prepare lectures yourself. Everything else is basically making it up as you go. Need an in-class exercise? Create one. Time for a test? Write it yourself. A homework assignment? Dream one up. Admittedly, all these tasks can be made easier by borrowing ideas from others (with appropriate changes and/or credit), but evaluating the results is all yours.
Grading and evaluation were the toughest jobs. I don't grade on a curve. I'd gladly give every student an A. The scholars in my classes paid good money to learn the rudiments of technical writing, but some worked harder or just did better work than the others. I encouraged everybody all of the time, suggested improvement whenever possible, and applied a gentle prod when needed. And in the end I had to assign grades. I tracked scores by various methods, but settled finally on a homemade Excel spreadsheet that let me track each student's attendance, work, and overall status.
Inside of a Small Circle of Friends
Family, friends, and colleagues—in STC and at Qualcomm—were generous with ideas and support. When I needed volunteers for informational interviews with my spring students, 18 professional technical writers responded [see sidebar]. This fall I went looking for speakers and found many folks eager to help: Mark Fogg described life as a technical editor (he seems to think that involves keeping the writers in line), and Jeff Freeman explained online help development and demonstrated an extensive help site that he had built.
In deciding to teach at State this past year, I wanted to pass along some of the writing tips and tool tricks that I've picked up as a technical writer. In the course of the year I learned as much about my own profession as any of my students did...and I learned a lot about what it takes to be a teacher.
[Click here to learn about SDSU programs.]
