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Writing in the Discipline – A Case Study in Construction Management

Abstract

Communication for the engineering and technology graduates always scored very high in the employers’ list of desirable attributes. ABET also placed high priority on communication in their required program outcomes for engineering and technology graduates. Also, it is obvious to the faculty members that students need extended writing practice beyond their English courses. This paper describes the writing in the discipline (WID) program initiated at Farmingdale State and how the construction management program has set up its courses to satisfy the requirements. The writing in the discipline program emphasizes writing critically and in case of technical courses it should have analysis and problem solving mode. So, it is critical to have the assignments are designed and articulated in a manner that proves critical thinking among the students. The process of re-designing a course to conform to WID requirements is described. The paper shares actual assignment given to the students and some of the best and worst responses from the students.

Introduction

Communication for the engineering and technology graduates always scored high in the employers’ survey for the list of desirable attributes. Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc. criteria further elaborate that “The communications content must develop the ability of graduates to …..b) incorporate communications skills throughout the technical content of the program …” According to Bob Kerry, chair of the National Commission on Writing in America’s Families, Schools and Colleges: “we need to make a greater commitment, as a nation, to the teaching of writing. Better writing not only makes for better students, it creates better teachers, better parents, better employees, and better citizens. Investment in writing today will have a cumulative effect on our economic growth, and on the strength of our democracy long into the future.”4 Now the question is how we teach writing to our technical students. Some of our colleagues in engineering and technology like to leave it our presumed expert colleagues in English department. They would like to see that when the students get passing grades in English 101, English 102, and possibly in a course like technical communication, they learned to communicate effectively so that the faculty in the technical discipline could concentrate on teaching content of the discipline. Writing in the Discipline concepts is based on the idea that content and writing are interconnected and teaching one should enhance the other.

Background

Writing in the Discipline at Farmingdale State started in response to concern expressed by some faculty after a poor showing of the Farmingdale students in a nationally normed standardized examination and general concern from our employers. About fifteen years

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Bandyopadhyay, A. (2006, June), Writing In The Discipline A Case Study In Construction Management Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--131