Bridging the Classroom and Workplace: the High-Impact Practices of a Technical and Professional Communication Studio Course

This paper discusses the high-impact practices of a communication design and content strategy studio course at a regional comprehensive university. A technical and professional communication studio course asks students to work as professional writers in a way that approximates a real-world workplace. The course in this case study, an advanced elective in an English undergraduate program, connected students with community clients to complete projects that integrated research, writing, and design. This paper describes the structure of the course, the design thinking approach applied to client projects, the students' processes, and lessons learned from end-of-term feedback. I conclude with recommendations for similar studio learning experiences that can help technical and professional communication students envision themselves in the professional sphere, bridging classroom and workplace practice through real-world research, writing, design, and project management.