Technical communication, as a field of practice and study, has grown larger and more varied in response to the rapidly developing technologies, new forms of globalization, and shifting institutional demands of the past 20 years—all greatly intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic within the last five. How, then, do today's instructors of technical communication meet the current moment as well as current student needs?

This roundtable calls for creative and innovative approaches to the teaching of technical communication. Following the NeMLA 2026 conference theme of “regeneration,” the session invites presentations that share pedagogical frameworks and/or strategies that critically innovate, expand, or reframe what students may think of as the “traditional” technical communication classroom and its stereotypes of “dull, document-based” work (Bridgeford, Kitalong & Selfe 2).

Presenters may choose to discuss pedagogical theories and frameworks; share insights from classroom experiments, good or bad; highlight specific projects, assignments, and activities; or otherwise. Approaches related to social justice, community engagement, and/or feminist pedagogy, as well as experiential teaching practices such as project-based learning and arts-based pedagogy, are particularly welcome (though not required).

Please submit an abstract and short bio to the portal by September 30, 2025: https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/21897

This roundtable is hybrid and will be held primarily in person, with the opportunity for a few remote presenters. NeMLA 2026 will take place in Pittsburgh, PA, on March 5–8, 2026. 

Bridgeford, Tracy, Karla Saari Kitalong, and Dickie Selfe, eds. Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication. Utah State UP, 2004.