Board 317: Improving Undergraduate STEM Writing:  A Collaboration Between Instructors and Writing Center Directors to Improve Peer-Writing Tutor Feedback

Robert Weissbach; Ruth Camille Pflueger; Immanuel Edinbarough,; Corinne C. Renguette; Brandon Sorge; Gamini P. Mendis; Matthew Rothrock; Annwesa Dasgupta; Johanna Bodenhamer

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42883
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42883
Download Count: 111

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Paper Authors

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Robert Weissbach Indiana University - Purdue University, Indianapolis orcid.org/0000-0002-0464-2460

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Robert Weissbach is currently chair of the department of engineering technology at IUPUI. From 1998 - 2016 he was with Penn State Behrend as a faculty member in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology. His research interests are in renewable energy, energy storage, and engineering education.

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Ruth Camille Pflueger Pennsylvania State University, Behrend orcid.org/0000-0003-1104-2006

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Ruth Pflueger has been the director of the Learning Resource Center at Penn State Behrend for 20 years, where she is also an affiliate instructor of English. She has been involved in a number of federal grants, including two NSF STEM grants, an EU-Atlant

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Immanuel Edinbarough, P.E. The University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley

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Immanuel A. Edinbarough received his B.Sc. (Applied Sciences) degree from PSG College of Technology, University of Madras, India, his B.E.. (M.E.) degree from the Institution of Engineers, India, M.E. (Production Engineering) degree from PSG College of Te

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Corinne C. Renguette Indiana University - Purdue University, Indianapolis

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Corinne Renguette, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Technical Communication, Chair of the Department of Technology Leadership and Communication, and Director of the Technical Communication Writing Center in the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. She is co-coordinator of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion track of the Assessment Institute and her research focuses on inclusion in STEM education, communication in STEM education, user-centered design and user experience (UX), and the assessment of educational materials.

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Brandon Sorge Indiana University - Purdue University, Indianapolis

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Brandon Sorge is an Associate Professor of STEM Education Research in the Department of Technology Leadership and Communication at the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI. His research interests include all aspects of STEM education, espe

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Graduate Research Assistant

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Abstract

Undergraduate STEM writing skills, especially in engineering fields, need improvement. Yet students in engineering fields often do not value writing skills and underestimate the amount of writing they will do in their careers. University writing centers can be a helpful resource, but peer writing tutors need to be prepared for the differences between writing for the humanities and writing in STEM fields.

The Writing Assignment Tutor Training in STEM (WATTS) model is designed to improve tutor confidence and student writing. In this innovative training, the writing center supervisor collaborates with the STEM instructor to create a one-hour tutor-training where the tutors learn about the assignment content, vocabulary, and expectations. This multidisciplinary collaborative project builds on previous investigative work to determine the impact of WATTS on students, tutors, and faculty and to identify its mitigating and moderating effects. Data has been collected and analyzed from pre- and post- training surveys, interviews, and focus groups. In addition, the project studies WATTS effects on student writing pre- and post-tutoring. The team will use these results to develop a replicable, sustainable model for future expansion to other institutions and fields. By systematically collecting data and testing WATTS, the investigators will be able to identify its mitigating and moderating effects on different stakeholders and contribute valuable knowledge to STEM fields.

This approach assesses the elements of the model that have the most impact and the extent to which WATTS can be used to increase collaboration between engineering instructors and writing centers. The project enables the investigators to expand WATTS to additional engineering courses, test key factors with more instructors, refine the process, and position WATTS for dissemination to a broad audience.

As the cost of higher education rises, institutions are pressured to graduate students in four years and engineering curricula are becoming more complex. WATTS presents an economical, effective method to improve student writing in the discipline. Several factors indicate that it has the potential for broad dissemination and impact and will provide a foundation for a sustainable model for future work, as instructors become trainers for their colleagues, allowing additional ongoing expansion and implementation. WATTS serves as a model for institutions (large or small) to capitalize on existing infrastructure and resources to achieve large-scale improvements to undergraduate STEM writing while increasing interdisciplinary collaboration and institutional support.

Citation
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Weissbach, R., & Pflueger, R. C., & Edinbarough,, I., & Renguette, C. C., & Sorge, B., & Mendis, G. P., & Rothrock, M., & Dasgupta, A., & Bodenhamer, J. (2023, June), Board 317: Improving Undergraduate STEM Writing: A Collaboration Between Instructors and Writing Center Directors to Improve Peer-Writing Tutor Feedback Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42883

TY - CPAPER
AB - Undergraduate STEM writing skills, especially in engineering fields, need improvement. Yet students in engineering fields often do not value writing skills and underestimate the amount of writing they will do in their careers. University writing centers can be a helpful resource, but peer writing tutors need to be prepared for the differences between writing for the humanities and writing in STEM fields.

The Writing Assignment Tutor Training in STEM (WATTS) model is designed to improve tutor confidence and student writing. In this innovative training, the writing center supervisor collaborates with the STEM instructor to create a one-hour tutor-training where the tutors learn about the assignment content, vocabulary, and expectations. This multidisciplinary collaborative project builds on previous investigative work to determine the impact of WATTS on students, tutors, and faculty and to identify its mitigating and moderating effects. Data has been collected and analyzed from pre- and post- training surveys, interviews, and focus groups. In addition, the project studies WATTS effects on student writing pre- and post-tutoring. The team will use these results to develop a replicable, sustainable model for future expansion to other institutions and fields. By systematically collecting data and testing WATTS, the investigators will be able to identify its mitigating and moderating effects on different stakeholders and contribute valuable knowledge to STEM fields.

This approach assesses the elements of the model that have the most impact and the extent to which WATTS can be used to increase collaboration between engineering instructors and writing centers. The project enables the investigators to expand WATTS to additional engineering courses, test key factors with more instructors, refine the process, and position WATTS for dissemination to a broad audience.

As the cost of higher education rises, institutions are pressured to graduate students in four years and engineering curricula are becoming more complex. WATTS presents an economical, effective method to improve student writing in the discipline. Several factors indicate that it has the potential for broad dissemination and impact and will provide a foundation for a sustainable model for future work, as instructors become trainers for their colleagues, allowing additional ongoing expansion and implementation. WATTS serves as a model for institutions (large or small) to capitalize on existing infrastructure and resources to achieve large-scale improvements to undergraduate STEM writing while increasing interdisciplinary collaboration and institutional support.

AU - Robert Weissbach
AU - Ruth Camille Pflueger
AU - Immanuel Edinbarough, P.E.
AU - Corinne C. Renguette
AU - Brandon Sorge
AU - Gamini P. Mendis
AU - Matthew Rothrock
AU - Annwesa Dasgupta
AU - Johanna Bodenhamer
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 317: Improving Undergraduate STEM Writing: A Collaboration Between Instructors and Writing Center Directors to Improve Peer-Writing Tutor Feedback
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42883
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42883
ER -