Integrating Service Learning and Technical Communication: Benefits and Challenges      

Our ethnographic study of a service-learning class revealed some students benefited in developing civic values, improving academic learning, and accepting responsibility for their own education. Other students struggled to see the connection between technical communication and service learning, felt frustrated with nonacademic writing, and experienced team conflict. We must redefine both technical communication and service learning, help students make the transition to the workplace, and educate community organizations about the role of technical communicators.

Matthews, Catherine and Beverly B. Zimmerman. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Service Learning