LINKED COURSES

The Writing and Communication Program`s linked courses enable students to work on projects under the supervision of instructors from their discipline as well as an instructor from the Writing and Communication Program. Linked courses foster creative partnerships between colleagues in different disciplines and give students the advantage of synergy in their learning.

The Spring 2009 linked course paired LCC 3401: Technical Communication Practices with the Senior Design program at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering. The goal was to teach students written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal communication in a client-centered environment. Students in this linked course learned to write effective communication (emails, memos, proposals, and reports) in service of their Senior Design project. The course turned the client project into a laboratory for studying communication strategies. Students learned the importance of communicating to specific audience(s), knowing genre conventions, and assessing the rhetorical situation; they also learned the basics of usability and user-centered design. Additionally, students learned how to function productively in groups by studying collaborative techniques, listening strategies, and effective meeting planning. LCC 3401 Instructor: Daniel Vollaro