Learning from Experience:  A Faculty-Led Collaborative Inquiry Exploring Evidence-Based Strategies for Embedding Communication Skills Across Engineering Curricula

Ashley R Taylor; Josh Iorio; Kelly Scarff; Angelo Biviano; Christine Burgoyne; Caroline Finlay Branscome; Kathleen Carper; Sara L Arena

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 7
Tagged Division: Faculty Development Division (FDD)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47720

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Paper Authors

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Ashley R Taylor Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-9412-5749

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Dr. Ashley Taylor (she/her) is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. Her teaching and research focus on mobilizing engineering students to solve pressing real-world challenges through community-based participatory approaches. Taylor has partnered alongside communities in rural Appalachia, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia to cultivate innovation ecosystems and provide hands-on design education opportunities at nine universities across sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. Together, collaborators from across these universities developed the Invention Education Toolkit (ive-toolkit.org), an open-access resource to support the transformation of engineering education in African universities to solve local and global challenges. Taylor received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education, MPH in Public Health Education, and MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

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Josh Iorio

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Josh Iorio is a Visiting Professor of Practice in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. He primarily works with graduate students on their writing, presenting and communicating skills, building the professional competencies required for leadership role

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Kelly Scarff Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Virginia Tech, Collegiate Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department

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Sara L. Arena received a B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics (2007), M.S. in Biomedical Engineering (2008), and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (2011) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). She currently serves as the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Program Chair and Collegiate Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. Sara’s research within engineering education has focused on active learning strategies within foundational undergraduate courses, including cooperative, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Sara additionally focuses on assessment methods related to accreditation. Outside of pedagogical research, Sara is also active in research related to the biomechanics of human movement, serving as the Assistant Director of the Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab at Virginia Tech.

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Abstract

This evidence-based practice paper describes a collaborative inquiry process to explore a critical question for engineering faculty: what are practical strategies for leveraging evidence-based practices to embed communication skills across core engineering curricula? Within engineering education, there is a growing consensus that communication skills are essential for engineering graduates. For example, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) distinctly highlights communication skills as a required student learning outcome for accreditation of engineering programs in ABET Criterion 3.3.: an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. Numerous studies exploring engineers’ school-to-work transition suggest that communication is one of the most important skill sets for engineering practice according to both recent graduates (Passow, 2012) and industry (Male et. al, 2010). As the Engineer of 2020 Report concisely noted, “good engineering will require good communication” (National Academy of Engineering, 2004, p. 56).

Despite the engineering education community’s shared vision for ensuring engineering graduates can communicate effectively, few practical examples exist to illuminate how faculty can leverage evidence-based practices to integrate communication skills into their existing technical curricula. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to share seven practical case-based examples of strategies implemented in a spectrum of engineering disciplines and learning environments to support faculty in integrating communication skills into existing engineering curriculum.

We first describe our collaborative inquiry process to create a “systematic structure for learning from experience” (Yorks & Kasl, 2002, p. 3). Our learning from experience is rooted in the reflections of faculty representing seven engineering departments who teach communication skills across a diverse range of engineering curricular contexts (e.g., course size, course level, technical subject, etc.) Next, we provide seven case studies of evidence-based strategies-in-action across this range of learning contexts, including both undergraduate and graduate education. For example, one case study discusses the integration of a community-focused debate project in a mining engineering undergraduate course to build students’ communications skills in rhetorical situation analysis while another study in a construction engineering management department attends to aspects of diversity and inclusion by promoting a writing process that begins with visual design. These case studies provide rich context for the learning environment and the implementation of the evidence-based practice, with the ultimate goal of supporting faculty in drawing connections to their own teaching strategies. Finally, we conclude by situating the case studies in the broader engineering education literature and sharing reflections for lessons learned on integration of communication instruction across existing engineering curricula.

Presentation Type: Hybrid: Round Tables w/ brief lecture to introduce case studies

References

Male, S. A., Bush, M. B., & Chapman, E. S. (2010). Perceptions of Competency Deficiencies in Engineering Graduates. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 16(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/22054952.2010.11464039

National Academy of Engineering. 2004. The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10999.

Passow, H. J. (2012). Which ABET Competencies Do Engineering Graduates Find Most Important in their Work? Journal of Engineering Education, 101(1), 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2012.tb00043.x

Reave, “Technical communication instruction in engineering schools: A survey of top-ranked U.S. and Canadian Programs,” J. Bus. Tech. Commun., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 452–491, 2004

Yorks, L., & Kasl, E. (2002). Learning from the inquiries: Lessons for using collaborative inquiry as an adult learning strategy. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2002(94), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.63

Citation
Format

Taylor, A. R., & Iorio, J., & Scarff, K., & Biviano, A., & Burgoyne, C., & Branscome, C. F., & Carper, K., & Arena, S. L. (2024, June), Learning from Experience: A Faculty-Led Collaborative Inquiry Exploring Evidence-Based Strategies for Embedding Communication Skills Across Engineering Curricula Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47720

TY - CPAPER
AB - This evidence-based practice paper describes a collaborative inquiry process to explore a critical question for engineering faculty: what are practical strategies for leveraging evidence-based practices to embed communication skills across core engineering curricula? Within engineering education, there is a growing consensus that communication skills are essential for engineering graduates. For example, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) distinctly highlights communication skills as a required student learning outcome for accreditation of engineering programs in ABET Criterion 3.3.: an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. Numerous studies exploring engineers’ school-to-work transition suggest that communication is one of the most important skill sets for engineering practice according to both recent graduates (Passow, 2012) and industry (Male et. al, 2010). As the Engineer of 2020 Report concisely noted, “good engineering will require good communication” (National Academy of Engineering, 2004, p. 56).

Despite the engineering education community’s shared vision for ensuring engineering graduates can communicate effectively, few practical examples exist to illuminate how faculty can leverage evidence-based practices to integrate communication skills into their existing technical curricula. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to share seven practical case-based examples of strategies implemented in a spectrum of engineering disciplines and learning environments to support faculty in integrating communication skills into existing engineering curriculum.

We first describe our collaborative inquiry process to create a “systematic structure for learning from experience” (Yorks &amp;amp; Kasl, 2002, p. 3). Our learning from experience is rooted in the reflections of faculty representing seven engineering departments who teach communication skills across a diverse range of engineering curricular contexts (e.g., course size, course level, technical subject, etc.) Next, we provide seven case studies of evidence-based strategies-in-action across this range of learning contexts, including both undergraduate and graduate education. For example, one case study discusses the integration of a community-focused debate project in a mining engineering undergraduate course to build students’ communications skills in rhetorical situation analysis while another study in a construction engineering management department attends to aspects of diversity and inclusion by promoting a writing process that begins with visual design. These case studies provide rich context for the learning environment and the implementation of the evidence-based practice, with the ultimate goal of supporting faculty in drawing connections to their own teaching strategies. Finally, we conclude by situating the case studies in the broader engineering education literature and sharing reflections for lessons learned on integration of communication instruction across existing engineering curricula.

Presentation Type: Hybrid: Round Tables w/ brief lecture to introduce case studies

References

Male, S. A., Bush, M. B., &amp;amp; Chapman, E. S. (2010). Perceptions of Competency Deficiencies in Engineering Graduates. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 16(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/22054952.2010.11464039

National Academy of Engineering. 2004. The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10999.

Passow, H. J. (2012). Which ABET Competencies Do Engineering Graduates Find Most Important in their Work? Journal of Engineering Education, 101(1), 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2012.tb00043.x

Reave, “Technical communication instruction in engineering schools: A survey of top-ranked U.S. and Canadian Programs,” J. Bus. Tech. Commun., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 452–491, 2004

Yorks, L., &amp;amp; Kasl, E. (2002). Learning from the inquiries: Lessons for using collaborative inquiry as an adult learning strategy. New Directions for Adult &amp;amp; Continuing Education, 2002(94), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.63

AU - Ashley R Taylor
AU - Josh Iorio
AU - Kelly Scarff
AU - Angelo Biviano
AU - Christine Burgoyne
AU - Caroline Finlay Branscome
AU - Kathleen Carper
AU - Sara L Arena
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Learning from Experience: A Faculty-Led Collaborative Inquiry Exploring Evidence-Based Strategies for Embedding Communication Skills Across Engineering Curricula
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47720
ER -