We designed a multi-week case study for technical writing students that incorporates AI into a complex risk-communication scenario. This case study introduces students to generative text technology through a scaffolded set of tasks in which they intervene in a classic professional and technical writing case study—the risk communication surrounding the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster. Students used ChatGPT to understand the case, to analyze and revise one of the memos implicated in the meltdown, to document and reflect on their revision strategies, and to develop a set of best practices for working with generative AI in technical communication.
Bryan Kopp, [email protected]
Chris McCracken, [email protected]
Lindsay Steiner, [email protected]
Louise Zamparutti, [email protected]