Collection

2007 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Susan J. Masten; Robert V. Fleisig

midterm (30%), in-lecture ReadinessAssessments Tests (10%), and the design project including interim work, presentation, and final report (40%). Students were given formal lectures on technical writing and oral communication skills, and asked to write two 1000-wordtechnical articles inspired by case study lectures, but including additional research that explored some particular aspect of thetopic in greater detail. Students were expected to express their own opinion on an engineering issue, present facts and evidence,and draw a conclusion. An important part of the learning process is the “peer evaluation”, in which students grade each other'swork and calibrate their own performance. A few students chose not to write one or both articles

Collection

2007 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Deborah Tihanyi; Margaret N. Hundleby

tooffering written feedback (along with a grade) on assignments. Students have access to agraduate student mentor early in the process who works with them to clarify content questionsand assess the viability of the project. Many students, on their own initiative, contact faculty inthe department for additional guidance in their research. Although the projects are individual,students form working groups—based on related interests—early in the course; regular workinggroup meetings provide a forum for sharing research strategies and challenges, as well as acomplementary peer assessment process.Revising Assessment StrategiesWe take as our starting point that “writing in the disciplines is founded on an integrativerelationship between writing and knowing

Collection

2007 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Zachary Bensusan; Leslie Gregg; William Leonard

a typical classroom assignment. The company also benefits by receiving a design orproduct that is at the highest quality possible.The last major advantage for students in this type of academic/industry collaboration is theability to include this experience in their professional resume. An assignment like this showspotential employers that the student has experience beyond simple classwork and has knowledgerequired to complete major projects. With a steadily growing number of engineering graduates,students require something that will set them apart from their peers. Due to this experience,students have familiarity in a topic that is in constant need in the engineering field. Therefore,depending on the collaborating company, students may be