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Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’ Writing and Thinking

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Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’ Writing and Thinking. Faculty of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana. Communicating Like Engineers. Context: RHIT and Engineering Communication Across the Curriculum - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’ Writing and Thinking Faculty of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana
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Page 1: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Communicating Like Engineers:Using WAC to Improve

Technical Students’ Writing and Thinking

Faculty of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana

Page 2: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Communicating Like Engineers Context: RHIT and Engineering

Communication Across the Curriculum Short presentations: assignment

development, procedure, student reactions, assessment, plans for revision

Discussion and questions

Page 3: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Presenters Ed Wheeler, Electrical

and Computer Engineering

Wayne Padgett, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Anneliese Watt, Humanities and Social Sciences

Richard Layton, Mechanical Engineering

Patsy Brackin, Mechanical Engineering

Julia Williams, Humanities and Social Sciences

Page 4: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Context for Engineering Communication Across

the Curriculum

Julia Williams, HSS

Page 5: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

What is WAC? Bi-annual conference Bloomington, Indiana Focuses on Writing Across the Curriculum

efforts National representation Engineers, scientists, mathematicians

participating

Page 6: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Engineering Communication Needs:

• Engineers who think, design, and communicate• Accreditation demands: student learning• Industrial demands: professional engineering

practice• Writing as learning tool: enhanced technical

proficiency and communication ability

Page 7: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Engineering Communication Constraints:

• Crowded engineering curriculum• Writing not integrated with technical content• Student attitudes: more work• Faculty attitudes: more work

Site for exchange and collaboration• Technical faculty• Technical communication faculty

Page 8: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

EE 206 Elements of Electrical Engineering:

Writing on a Technical Topic, Guided Peer Review

Ed Wheeler, ECE

Page 9: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Not communicating effectively, particularly in writing, remains the greatest shortcoming of most engineers today.

Norman Augustine, Former Chair and CEO of Martin Marietta Corporation

"By the time I leave office, I want engineering to do a better job of supplying information on which public policy can be based.”

William Wolf, National Academy of Engineering

Page 10: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Paper Assignment for EE 206

Assignment• Initial topic choice

• Peer-revision

• Final draft

Two options for students• Technical or peer audience

• General audience

Page 11: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Technical or Peer Audience Paper assignment

• Write a paper on one or two specific uses of transducers in measurement & control in your discipline.

Objectives• Demonstrate independent learning of new technical

material

• Use of effective graphics where appropriate

Page 12: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

General Audience Paper assignment

• Write a paper on some topic partly or wholly within your discipline. Consider your audience to be comprised of generally well informed members of the general public.

Objectives• Accommodate varied audience

• Learn that doing this well is difficult

• Appreciate that the goal is not to “dumb down”

Page 13: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Observations and Outcomes Successful assignment

• Many excellent papers

• Interesting and fun to read

• Students engaged in process

Peer-evaluation forms Burden not too heavy

Page 14: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

EC 380 Discrete Time and Continuous Systems:

Literature Search and Oral Report

Wayne Padgett, ECE

Page 15: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Writing in Engineering Courses

- author may wish to remain anonymous

Page 16: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

EC380 Course RequirementsEC 380 Discrete Time and Continuous

Systems 4R-0L-4C W, S Pre: EC 300

System properties applied to discrete-time and continuous systems. The z-transform, FIR and IIR filters. Convolution and the Fourier transform in continuous and discrete-time systems. Literature search and oral report.

Page 17: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Traditional Approach Student chooses technical topic Student researches topic (literature search) Student documents research (formal report) Student presents research (oral

presentation) Professor grades report and presentation

Page 18: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Traditional Disadvantages Research is unstructured, sometimes

ineffective Large number of topics Report grading is time-intensive Presentations use large amount of class time Other course assignments may be redundant Students sometimes re-use topics, papers

Page 19: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Alternative Approach Student reads pre-selected articles (one

topic), reads 1 self-selected paper (new topic)

Student analyzes papers for technical level and intended audience

Students research a topic in pairs and give oral presentation

Professor grades analysis and report

Page 20: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Alternative Advantages Student receives specific guidance on

research technique Writing assignment is shorter, and research-

skill oriented Research requirement is less intense, fewer

presentations

Page 21: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Alternative Disadvantages Less depth in research Students still want to re-use topics Some students still find the assignment

redundant Professor schedules assignment timing

instead of student (more structured)

Page 22: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

RH 330 Technical Communication:Audience Analysis and

Accommodation

Anneliese Watt, HSS

Page 23: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Audience Analysis in Tech Comm:What We Want--Writing

Students should be able to:• Define their audience• Describe the relevant characteristics of that

audience• Craft a document that adequately

accommodates that audience. Audience Analysis Worksheet (handout)

Page 24: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Audience Analysis in Tech Comm:What We Want--Reading

Students should:• Consider the forum within which the document

is distributed, read, and/or published• Understand who constitutes the target primary

and secondary readers. They should then ask how the above may

have affected the presentation and reception of the material.

Page 25: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Common Student Complaint:

“I don’t understand the article I’m reading.” Why?--you may not be the audience. In doing research for a technical report,

students need to be reminded to consider the audience for the article they are reading, and how that affects the presentation of the material.

They also need to be encouraged to pursue material from a variety of forums.

Page 26: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Example: DVD Articles Handout: DVD articles

• Epinions.com• Scientific American “Ask the Experts” (2

articles)• IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics.

Common topic Differences in audience and purpose Drastically different in strategies of

language, organization, tone, etc.

Page 27: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Regarding DVD Articles, Students Are Asked:

What readers are targeted by this publication?

What can the document tell us about the audience it is intended for?

What elements of the document reflect reader accommodation?

Page 28: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Tech Com Assignment Summary Audience analysis worksheet

• Students analyze their reading• Students prepare for their own writing.

DVD articles as a 1-2 day assignment• Students become more effective researchers

and readers of technical info• Students more successfully accommodate their

own audiences.

Page 29: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

ME 406 Control Systems:Laboratory Report

Richard Layton, ME

Page 30: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Writing? In a technical course? Basic needs

• Critical thought about class-related work• Technical coherence in reporting

To meet these needs• Open-ended problems• Writing, writing, writing, writi…

Page 31: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Course attributes ME406 Control Systems, Fall 00

• 61 seniors in 17 teams in 2 sections• Lecture + lab + design• “Jigsaw” structure for lab instruction

Writing assignments by teams• 3 or 4 students per team• Heterogeneous, instructor-assigned• Peer-ratings to address hitchhiking

Page 32: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Team writing assignmentsAssignment

Lab report Revise outline,

in-class Oral presentation

of outline Revised report

Feedback Graded w/ marginal notes Focused mini-lectures on

technical errors/omissions Active listening and

student critique Graded w/ general

comments

Page 33: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Writing goals Report results of lab or design problem

• Many paths to a satisfactory outcome• Discussion, implication, inferences

More than just reporting• Why these deliverables?• Vertical synthesis

Coherence, coherence, coherence

Page 34: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Issues Team writing and editing

• Team commitment• Coherence

Clarity of expectations• “Open-ended” shouldn’t mean “obscure”• Timeline given in advance

Motivate the writing

Page 35: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Mechanical Engineering 450/460/470

Machine Design:Professional Writing Practice

Patsy Brackin, ME

Page 36: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

What is Senior Design? Mechanical Engineering 450/460/470 Machine Design Traditional machine design concepts:

fatigue, buckling, use of machine components, etc.

Design project with an industrial sponsor: Sagian, Union Hospital, Neoteric, Caterpillar

Page 37: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Writing Components of ME 460 Team meetings: Agenda and Minutes Weekly progress report memos to instructor Logbook Final design report

Page 38: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Areas for Improvement Logbooks:

• Poor documentation.• Students have difficulty reflecting on their learning.

Design Reports• Inappropriate level of abstraction: either too general or

too detailed• Students ignore guidelines: omit required sections, leave

out supporting materials, etc.• Students don’t believe they should be explicit and direct

about their project: reluctant to answer the question, what is the problem?

Page 39: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Communicating Like Engineers:Using WAC to Improve

Technical Students’ Writing and Thinking

Faculty of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana

Page 40: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Communicating Like Engineers Context: RHIT and Engineering

Communication Across the Curriculum Short presentations: assignment

development, procedure, student reactions, assessment, plans for revision

Discussion and questions

Page 41: Communicating Like Engineers: Using WAC to Improve Technical Students’  Writing and Thinking

Website for Handouts

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~williaj/wac2001


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