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Debra Purdy

Lecturer,
Internship CoordinatorDebry Purdy faculty photo

debrapurdy@boisestate.edu

LA-211H

Debra Purdy is a lecturer at Boise State University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate technical communication courses. In addition to 25 years of teaching experience, Debra has worked as a practitioner and consultant in the field of technical communication, working with corporations in the medical device and semi-conductor industries, governmental organizations, and non-profits. She is also an active community and campus volunteer where she has focused on leadership development and strategic planning.

As a member of the Technical Communication faculty, Debra focuses on teaching practical skills for writing in the workplace, collaboration and project management, audience analysis, and visual design. As a lecturer in the program for more than twelve years, Debra’s scholarly research has been entirely student-focused, seeking opportunities to learn how she can better support student engagement, persistence, and success in the classroom.

Education

  • M.A., Technical Communication, Boise State University
  • B.A., English, University of Idaho

Interests

Audience analysis; usability testing; oral presentation materials; resume writing; visual rhetoric; information design; proposal development; technical writing; workplace writing; internal business communication; nonprofit leadership

Recent Presentations

  • Engaging Pedagogies for Student Success in Undergraduate Service Courses: Using Practical Wisdom to Make Good Courses Great. Computers and Writing, George Mason University, Fairfax VA, May 2018.
  • Creating Conditions for Collaboration in a Tech Comm Service Course. Intermountain Teaching for Learning Conference, Nevada State College, Henderson, NV, March 2018.
  • Interventions for Improving Student Retention. Poster Presentation, Great Ideas in Teaching Symposium, Boise State University, Boise, ID January 2018.
  • Conscientiously Creating Conditions for Successful Collaboration in a Technical Communication Service Course. Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Portland, OR, April 2017.
  • Proactive Interventions: Course Design to Increase Student Persistence and Retention. Computers & Writing, University of Wisconsin, Menomonie, WI. May 2015.

Courses

  • ENGL 202 Technical Communication
  • ENGL 302 Technical Rhetoric and Genres
  • ENGL 314 Proposal Development
  • ENGL 511 Introduction to Technical Communication
  • ENGL 515 Visual Rhetoric and Information Design