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APPLIED ACADEMICS
NEWSWIRE
Volume # II No. 8
January 14, 2000
Helping educators to bring the real world into the classroom
In this issue...
TPC IN FOCUS
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ATTITUDE IS
EVERYTHING
Teacher beliefs effect TPC 12 implementation
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TECH. LIT.
FOR TOMORROW’S CLASS
A few downloadable technical articles for your next TPC class
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TO BE OR NOT
TO BE
Why teaching clear writing skills is of value
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NEW
BEGINNINGS FOR THE NEW YEAR
A new TPC 12 Start Up Kit is soon to be released
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CONTACT
INFORMATION
1) ATTITUDE IS
EVERYTHING
Mom was right, attitude is
everything. Two recent field studies show that this
axiom is never truer than when it comes to successfully implementing
Technical and Professional Communications 12.
In her UBC master thesis,
Nargis Abraham examined how English teachers’ beliefs
effected the implementation of TPC 12. As a technical writing instructor
at BCIT, Abraham was interested in how the media gave the impression
that most English teachers would not value a non literature based language
course. She determined to investigate this issue. Of
the 41 responding BC English teachers, certain trends emerged. Those
unwilling to implement TPC felt that the
course really should not be part of the
English department. They were very hesitant in teaching non-literary
options or focusing on pragmatic texts. All of
these teachers lacked significant work experience outside of the
classroom.
On the other hand, those
willing to teach TPC 12 valued non literature based English
skills and were not reluctant to use pragmatic texts. Interestingly,
these teachers all had non-teaching work experience. It would
seem that this gave them an appreciation for the communication skills
used in non-academic work environments.
These results are similar to a
study commissioned by the Center for Applied Academics
in the spring of 1999. Traditional English teachers remained the primary
opponent of TPC 12 who were doubtful that an English course could be
both rigorous and not literature based. The
notion that students could graduate
without studying some of the literary works and genres covered in English
12 or English Literature 12 was unthinkable. The literary appreciation
and critical thinking skills taught in English 12 were too greatly
valued by most English teachers to abandon them in favour of more practical
communications skills.
Both the CFAA Report and
Abraham’s thesis recommend that a literature component be developed for
TPC 12.
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2) TECH. LIT. FOR
TOMMORROW’S CLASS
The assembling of a bank of
technical literature is a complex and lengthy process.
However, that does not stop us from offering some technical articles that
can be down-loaded for your next TPC class.
"Great Walls of
Fire", by Linda Boyer is available at
http://www.novell.com/nwc/jan.97/fire17/index.html
and describes the use of fire
walls for network security. It is a typical technical article.
"An Investigation of the
Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles"
is an excellent example of a technical report, and discusses the safety
concerns of using cell phones while driving. It can be found at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/wireless/
Many journals provide
abstracts of the research articles that they publish. As
we head for the height of flu season, students might find "The
Effectiveness of Vaccination Against Influenza
in Healthy, Working Adults" of
interest. Locate it at http://www.nejm.org/content/1995/0333/0014/0889.asp
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3) TO BE, OR NOT
TO BE
TPC 12 teachers have been
preaching the necessity of clear and concise writing
for the past few years. Here are some concrete examples of how needed
these skills are for today’s students. The below quotes are have been
collected by various North American English teachers and posted on the
website.
"The greatest writer of
the Renaissance was William J. Shakespeare. His father
was Mr. Shakespeare and his mother Mrs. Shakespeare. He wrote during
the era in which he lived. Shakespeare was
born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday." "Macbeth
was from his mother’s womb untamely (sic) ripped. He is a brave and
strong man who turns bad and gradually gets worse. King Duncan wire
Macbeth that he will be spending the night at
his castle. Then Lady Macbeth tries to
convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan by attacking his manhood. Macbeth
then suffers from quilt. In fact, they have so much quilt between them.,
they can’t sleep at night."
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4) NEW BEGINNINGS
FOR THE NEW YEAR
A new and updated version of
the TPC 12 Start-Up Kit is on its way. Come this
March, version 3.0 will have been validated by teachers in the field
and ready for release. Order yours early by
calling 1 877 293-CFAA.
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5) CONTACT INFORMATION
APPLIED ACADEMICS NEWSWIRE is a service
of the Center for Applied Academics.
Center for Applied Academics
Suite 702 - 555 Seymour Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 3H2 CANADA
Phone: 604/412.7634 Fax: 604/688.5924
Toll Free: 1 877 293-CFAA
Internet: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/cfaa
E-mail at cfaa0010@bcitvm.bcit.ca.
****NOTE EMAIL ADDRESS CHANGE****
Should you have questions about the CFAA
list, please contact:
Bruce Deacon at cfaanews@islandnet.com
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