Teaching Technical Communication to Engineering Students: Design, Implementation, and Assessment for Project-based Instruction

Abstract

Through the project-based instruction (PBI) method, this paper described the design, implementation, and assessment of a technical communication course for engineering graduate students. The paper first addressed an increasing demand of engineering students with great communication skills through analyzing the existing literature and industry criteria. It then introduced concepts and characteristics of PBI and explained why PBI is a fit pedagogy in teaching technical writing to engineering students. Next, it elaborated components involved in the holistic design of the PBI course, including student sample, timeline, designed sections and units, and designing rationale and principles. This paper then reported the teaching effectiveness of this course through the course evaluation. Through the instructor's critical reflection, the paper finally discussed challenges in implementing and assessing a PBI method in this course and also provided insights to improve curriculum design for future scholars.

An Investigation into Technical Writing Difficulties, Causes and Solutions

“…Since 1990s, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has been considering technical communication as one of the highest abilities that need to be measured and developed for engineering students in general. Although ABET issued valuation standards for different engineering programs or majors, it constantly comprised technical communication as an vital standard across diverse plans (Gao, 2019;Loveland and McGough2014). Technical communication is a way to convey business, commerce, medicine or other technical information (Johnson-Sheehan, 2005) and technical writing is drafting or writing technical communication used in occupational and technical areas, such as engineering, computer hardware and software, chemistry, biotechnology, forestry and finance (TechWhirl, 2014).…”

Improving Engineering Student Professional Communication through Mini-Laboratory Reports

“…Engineering curriculum puts emphasis on problem solving, learning software, and other technical skills that may be useful in industry. Technical communication and writing skills are often neglected as these skills are not the main focus of study and prove to be an area of weakness for many young engineers [1]. An engineer that is a highly skilled technical communicator has a significant advantage in the job market over their counterparts.…”