An Exploratory Study of Far Transfer: Understanding Writing Transfer from First-Year Composition to Engineering Writing-in-the Major Courses

Work in Progress: Supporting Engineering Laboratory Report Writing with Modules Targeted for Instructors

“…The authors have previously published a learning outcomes rubric based on APA writing outcomes [16] and ABET EAC outcomes [17] that ties outcomes to the relevant sections of a typical engineering laboratory report (Table 1) [citation to be included in final draft]. The authors developed modules targeting laboratory instructors to support each of these outcomes with a scaffolded approach, based on research into student writing preparation [18] and student performance on early and later lab reports in an early laboratory class in a variety of programs and curricula [19]. The modules are meant to be very concise, simple, and easy-to-use aids for helping engineering students improve their engineering laboratory report writing skills, specifically preparing and presenting the results of engineering experiments.…”

Refining Instructional Modules for Engineering Lab Writing Using a Community of Practice Approach

“…On the other hand, engineering students, particularly in the lower division, experience writing difficulties in engineering lab courses due to the strangeness of engineering lab reports as a new genre for them [2]. The genre characteristics of engineering lab reports are quite distinct from those of writing assignments in college-level general education writing courses, which students often take before arriving engineering labs [3,4]. In addition, Wolfe [5] argued that textbooks on technical writing have gaps when applying their content to writing instruction in engineering.…”