As distinguished from problems in the natural sciences, which are definableand separable and may have solutions that are findable, the problemsof governmental planning—and especially those of social or policyplanning—are ill-defined; and they rely upon elusive political judgmentfor resolution. (Not “solution.” Social problems are never solved. At bestthey are only re-solved—over and over again) [p. 160]

Instructors of technical communication are uniquely positioned to engagestudents with concrete problems in local workplaces and community settings.The benefits of this pedagogy are well documented [3-8]. Problem-definition,however, can be a complicated rhetorical and methodological undertaking inits own right. Indeed, many of the issues that demand our collective attention(e.g., global climate change, educational reform, widespread unemployment)are so “wicked,” andill-defined, that they require us to expand our thinkingbeyond a linear, definition/solution model for research and social planning.

“wicked problem” as a wayto characterize social policy issues that cannot be addressed through techno-scientific rationality alone.

Identifying the Gulf spill as a wicked problem encouraged students to learnabout systemic issues that demand attention in themselves but that also connect toother concrete problems that can be addressed through more local engagements.

Table 2. Assignments, Objectives, and Outcomes Rela

1. the design of symbolic and visual communications;2. the design of material objects;3. the design of activities and organized services; and4. the design of complex systems or environments for living, working, playing,and learning.

The value (and potential frustration) of focusing on wicked problems is thatthe object of analysis is ill defined and thus requires careful engagement withmultiple issues

I believe that these types of incidentsoffer a powerful basis for teaching students how to address problems on a localscale—through their research, writing, and emerging professional expertise—andfor addressing the array of global entanglements that continue to arise well afterthe semester has come to an end

Those involved in the response and clean-up effortshave an ethical responsibility to consider the out-comes of their actions (e.g., applying dispersantsand not knowing their long-term effects).

Placements have boundaries to shape and constrain meaning, but are notrigidly fixed and determinate. The boundary of a placement gives a contextor orientation to thinking, but the application to a specific situation cangenerate a new perception of that situation and, hence, a new possibility tobe tested. Therefore, placements are sources of new ideas and possibilitieswhen applied to problems in concrete circumstances [18, p. 13].