ASU MSTC PROGRAM outcomes

 

 

The coursework of this Masters Degree program is essentially divided into four categories that work together to produce the best material for each communication style and product. I have made available the complete list for reference on the right hand side of this page. The student learns methods and concepts in each course that form the foundation of the skillset they will take with them beyond graduation.

 

The critical course outcomes are mastered in each classes' coursework and tangible results, for example, in the visualization course (TWC 214) can be demonstrated when color, shape, and direction of patterns prove there are better ways to graphically present information. These guideposts are present in each grant proposal, technical report, website design, or chart and can be crucial to user experience and targeting the correct audience.

 

Considering the students as being the project manager of all these communications styles allows students to develop more of a complete ownership in the process and the results they are trying to achieve. Knowing who the user of the final product is, and what the audience needs is a key outcome of all communication. This curriculum deals with cultural and language barriers and how to make multiple verisons of the same type of deliverable that can be shared over different media. Just as important, TWC 551 teaches the rules and conditions of the ownership of all this intellectual property when it is is completed.

 

This program has allowed myself as a veteran communications professional to retool and add new skills and thought processes to my career and I would recommend it to anyone who needs to communicate as part of their current job, or future profession.

 

 

 

 

Rhetorical Knowledge

  • Recognize and understand the ways in which genres shape communication

  • Understand the importance of user-centered design

  • Analyze, articulate and respond to the needs of specific audiences and communication situations

  • Apply conventions of genre and form appropriate to specific audiences and contexts

 

 

Critical Thinking, Analysis, and Research

  • Understand a variety of theoretical approaches to technical communication
  • Understand relationships among language, knowledge, and power
  • Recognize, analyze, and understand the contexts within which language, information, and knowledge are produced, managed, organized, and disseminated
  • Integrate previously held beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge with new information and the ideas of others
  • Understand ideological perspectives regarding research methods and research design
  • Read, interpret, and evaluate research studies
  • Identify and apply appropriate methods for investigating particular research questions

 

 

Practices and Processes

  • Develop flexible strategies for drafting, revising, and editing
  • Demonstrate ability to communicate verbally and visually in multiple genres
  • Understand the collaborative and social aspects of research, writing, and design processes
  • Demonstrate awareness of community and cultural patterns in communication
  • Demonstrate understanding of legal and ethical uses of information and technology

 

Technology

  • Demonstrate a critical perspective of technology, its uses, users, and contexts
  • Understand the role of technologies/media in accessing, managing, developing, and communicating information
  • Choose appropriate technologies for presenting, organizing, and communicating information for a range of audiences, purposes, and genres
  • Demonstrate ability to use a range of technologies for writing, editing, and designing
  • Develop flexibility in adapting to new technologies

 

Courtesy: Arizona State University