Implementing a Continuous Improvement Model for Assignment Evaluation at the Technical and Professional Communication Program Level

Abstract

We use a continuous improvement model to evaluate an information design assignment by analyzing 120 student drafts and finals alongside instructor feedback. Using data from across sections ( N = 118), we illustrate a process focused on improving student learning that other technical and professional communication program administrators and faculty can follow, while also offering insights into ways programs can assist a contingent labor force with improving pedagogical practice. This study provides insights into assignment design through data-driven evidence and reflective work that is necessary to help continuously improve a service course and to assist students in meeting learning outcomes.

A Field Wide Snapshot of Student Learning Outcomes in the Technical and Professional Communication Service Course

“…Beyond improving outcome development, TPC PAs and faculty need to use SLOs to develop and to maintain the service course. Moving beyond assessment (Clegg et al, 2021;Sonnenberg et al, 2022), SLOs can help guide faculty and students in knowing what the course does, which aligns with Allen (2004) who argued that TPC must be ready to "identify our own standards of performance in a technical communication course, the kinds of experiences we want students to have in our programs, and the outcomes we hope to encourage" (p. 95). Naming what we expect for students to learn-the experiences and outcomes-is particularly important for the service course.…”

Back to the Basics: Uncovering the Rhetoric Student Learning Outcome

“…This research study started as program evaluation, which has been emphasized in recent scholarship in TPC (Schreiber & Melonçon, 2019, 2023; Sonnenberg et al., 2023) As an iterative process, program evaluation helps program administrators and faculty understand their programs more deeply and from different viewpoints in an effort to continuously improve. Program evaluation is separate from, yet distinctly related to, program assessment and other types of assessment (such as those done for accrediting agencies).…”

“…For the nine instructors, we included all the students that chose the same problem-based scenario, Matt’s One-Hour Heating and Air Conditioning (N = 90 students; 90 drafts and 90 finals = 180 total documents). As Sonnenberg et al. (2023) noted, “The relational nature between student drafts, instructor feedback, and student finals could shed insights into where the assignment may not be working in ways that previous research had not been able to do” (p. 7).…”

“…The service course is defined as “introductory courses for nonmajors delivered primarily as a service to other departments and programs on campus” (Melonçon & England, 2011, p. 398). Service courses are ubiquitous across the United States (e.g., Bivens et al., 2020; Read & Michaud, 2018; Schreiber et al., 2018; Sonnenberg et al., 2023), and they appear at all types of institutions under a myriad of names such as business writing, business communication, professional writing, technical writing, and technical communication. These courses often focus on “real-audience needs, problem solving, and learning to communicate information that has real cultural, legal, and ethical obligations” (Melonçon, 2018, p. 208), as they prepare students to “adap[t] emergent knowledge to specific workplace or community-based contexts” (Scott, 2008, p. 382).…”

“…Since rhetoric is central to the goals of the course, we wanted to evaluate this outcome and its impact on teaching and learning. Scholars in technical and professional communication have examined SLOs related to assessment (e.g., Allen, 2004; Ilyasova & Bridgeford, 2014; Mallette & Hawks, 2020; Newmark & Bartolotta, 2021; Say, 2015; Sonnenberg et al., 2023) rather than our goal of evaluating an outcome based on teaching and learning. Distinct from program assessment , which is mandated by an institutional initiative and focuses on outcomes after students have produced deliverables, program evaluation is an iterative process that evaluates how outcomes, assignments, and courses impact student learning as the program functions in real time.…”