Negotiating Professional Consciousness in Technical Communication: A Community of Practice Approach

<p>Purpose: To examine the elements of professional consciousness in technical communication to facilitate the growth of professional identity. Method: To develop a structured collaboration model based on Wenger's three dimensions for establishing a community of practice: joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and shared repertoire. Results: Structured collaboration shows strong potential to nurture a community in which the specific professional identity of being an academic or a practitioner is minimized in favor of the negotiated identity of being a community member working toward mutual goals. Conclusions: Effective collaboration between the academic and practitioner communities creates a negotiated professionalism through better research, better education, and a more comprehensive body of knowledge. Structured collaboration along the lines of community of practice can be used to encourage professional consciousness, which can lead to professional status.</p>