Integrating Communication Intensive Classes And Communication Studios Into The Louisiana State University College Of Engineering
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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7
- Page Numbers
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11.780.1 - 11.780.7
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--1391
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/1391
- Download Count
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358
Paper Authors
Warren Hull Louisiana State University
Warren Hull is the Engineering Communications Coordinator at Louisiana State University. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and an M.S. in Environmental Health from Harvard University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with nearly 40 years engineering experience. Prior to joining LSU he was an engineering consultant. He is also a retired U.S. Air Force officer.
Lillian B Bowles Louisiana State University
Lillian Bridwell-Bowles is a Professor of English at Louisiana State University and Director of Communication across the Curriculum (CxC). She received her baccalaureate and master’s degrees from Florida State University and her doctorate from the University of Georgia. She has worked with communication in various fields for 23 years, led a number of successful grants on communication in technical fields, and served as the Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. She was previously a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Karen Powell Louisiana State University
Karen Powell is Assistant Director of Communication across the Curriculum (CxC) and has acted as an Instructor in both the Department of English and Honors College at Louisiana State University. She received her baccalaureate degrees from Louisiana State University and her master’s degree from the University of Delaware. She has taught and edited technical writing for six years.
Warren Waggenspack Louisiana State University
Warren N. Waggenspack, Jr. is currently the Associate Dean for Engineering Undergraduates and holder of the Ned Adler Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University. He obtained both his baccalaureate and master's degrees from LSU ME and his doctorate from Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering. He has been actively engaged in teaching, research and curricula development since joining the faculty in 1988. He currently serves as Co-Director of the Education and Outreach program with LSU’s NSF-EPSCoR Center for Bio-Modular Multi-Scale Systems (CBM2) and is responsible for the development and implementation of several of the centers K-12 and public outreach programs.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Integrating Communication-Intensive Classes and Communication Studios into the Louisiana State University College of Engineering
Introduction:
Should instruction in an engineering college include what some perceive to be the ancillary skills of written and oral communication? Certainly, ensuring that students learn the requisite fundamentals of engineering and its mathematical and scientific underpinnings is already a daunting challenge. In answering this question, the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) developed an outcomes-based accreditation initiative called Engineering Criteria 20001 (EC2000). One of the EC 2000 criteria (Criterion 3 under “Program Outcomes and Assessment”) is the necessity for engineering graduates to demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively.
While considered progressive and innovative, EC2000 was not without its critics. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) completed a one-year study of the implementation of EC20002 that revealed some difficulties with its implementation. One of this study’s observations warrants some particular discussion here. The contribution of an external Advisory Board was described as follows (emphasis added):
Involvement of the program Advisory Board was expressed as a positive result of EC2000. These groups provided a very useful resource to the program in establishing educational objectives and defining associated measurements of student outcomes. The major design experience benefited from board input, particularly with regard to “real world” problems and improvement in communication skills.
One might ask why these representatives from industry have given such emphasis to the need for graduating engineers who have mastered communication skills. We contend that there are three major influences making communication a critical skill for engineers. The first of these is the opportunity for advancement that is afforded engineers in the corporate environment. One need only to look at the senior managers of technology-driven industries to realize that there is a heavy representation of engineers in this group. The ability that allows engineers to move into management is increasingly identified as communication skill. Writing appears to be crucial according to the College Board’s survey3 of 120 major American corporations. In addition, the ability to communicate complex information orally and visually4 is also emerging as a necessary skill for managers in technical fields.
A second major factor contributing to the need for better communication skills is the evolving trend toward multi-disciplinary teams that include many non-engineering participants. The most recent edition of the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook5 summarizes this well:
Hull, W., & Bowles, L. B., & Powell, K., & Waggenspack, W. (2006, June), Integrating Communication Intensive Classes And Communication Studios Into The Louisiana State University College Of Engineering Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--1391
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