Peer-review of writing is an instructional strategy used to develop students’ critical thinking skills, writing competence and as a way of engaging students as active agents in their learning process [1,3,4]. In the Fall 2013 semester, two peer-review assignments were introduced in a compulsory first year engineering course, Introduction to the Engineering Profession, taken by nearly 500 students (in two sections). The objectives of the peer-review assignments were two-fold: (1) to help improve students’ writing by providing them with constructive criticism and feedback and (2) to develop students’ critical thinking and editing skills. Using a rubric provided by the instructor, students were asked to evaluate their peers’ written assignments in three categories: overall presentation, clarity and coherence (organization), and justification/explanation of the topic being discussed/analyzed. One assignment addressed the inter-disciplinary nature of the engineering profession while the second focused on making ethical decisions. Evaluators were required to justify the score given in each category, as well as to provide a short written comment on the paper as a whole. At the end of term, a class survey was conducted where students reflected on the peer review assignment from a learning perspective. This study presents the results of an analysis of those reflections. Overall, students and the instructor valued this instructional approach. Implications of this type of instructional strategy for undergraduate engineering education are also discussed.
This paper offers a landscape analysis of communication instruction within six Canadian and two American Engineering faculties by bringing together approaches and perspectives from communication instructors at these institutes. Each instructor shares a summary of their institution’s approach to communication instruction, before discussing a course-level initiative. Similarities between these approaches at a course and institutional level are summarized and discussed.
A student response system (SRS) is an adaptation of audience response system technology for the educational environment, designed specifically to enhance interaction and active participation in class. During the fall 2013 term, an open-ended student response system was used in an undergraduate engineering statistics course. Twenty-eight students (57%) completed an online survey at the end of term. Results suggest that the use of questions with an open response system had a positive impact on student engagement and motivation. The results also provide insights for the implementation of student response systems as a way to prompt student/instructor interaction, students’ active participation, peer instruction and group work during class time.
Reflective writing is a strategy used to promote self-regulated skills among students. We describe the implementation of reflective writing assignments in two compulsory undergraduate non-technical engineering courses on the engineering profession and professional practice. We discuss our observations on the content of the student papers and the challenges associated with the implementation of these reflective writing assignments
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