Book Review: Effective Teaching of Technical Communication: Theory, Practice, and Application by Michael J. Klein

Abstract

Michael J. Klein’s Effective Teaching of Technical Communication: Theory, Practice, and Application is a comprehensive edited collection written by and for technical communication instructors, administrators, and scholars. As one of the most recent and significant additions to the professional and technical communication (PTC) literature, the collection both demonstrates innovative pedagogical approaches and identifies crucial directions for the field to pursue. Marketed as an update to the long-standing Foundations for Teaching Technical Communication (Staples & Ornatowski, 1997), the collection provides more diverse, contemporary, and provocative perspectives on pedagogical strategies and teaching practices. The collection also comes as the first book in a new series from the WAC Clearinghouse —Foundations and Innovations in Technical and Professional Communication—which promises to foreground texts that address the critical intersections of theory and practice. As a reflection of the methodological depth and breadth of PTC scholarship, Klein’s collection delivers on this promise. The expansive collection, divided into four parts, consists of 16 chapters composed by 23 authors. Part 1, “Expanding Pedagogy,” features pedagogical approaches and strategies that respond to the social justice turn in PTC; Part 2, “Shaping Curriculum,” portrays innovative course and curricular development; Part 3, “Incorporating Technology,” moves beyond standard advice for how to use technology in the classroom and turns toward collaborativeand team-based approaches to technical communication in Book Review