Technical Communication Across the ME Curriculum at Rose-Hulman
- Conference
- Location
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Salt Lake City, Utah
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2018
- Start Date
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June 23, 2018
- End Date
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July 27, 2018
- Conference Session
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Design, Assessment, and Redesign of Writing Instruction for Engineers
- Tagged Division
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Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
- Page Count
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10
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--31067
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/31067
- Download Count
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478
Paper Authors
Rebecca Bercich Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rebecca Bercich is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She received her BS, MS, and PhD degrees in biomedical engineering from Purdue University in 2016. Her doctoral research focused on the development of wirelessly powered implantable devices to record and stimulate bioelectric activity. She currently teaches in in the areas of mechatronics, measurements, and engineering design. Address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Ave., Terre Haute, IN 47803 Phone: (812) 877-8121 E-mail: bercich@rose-hulman.edu.
Sarah Summers Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Sarah Summers earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition at Pennsylvania State University and joined the Rose-Hulman faculty in 2014. Her most recent scholarly work focuses on using design thinking to teach writing. She teaches advanced writing courses including technical writing, grant writing, and digital writing as well as courses in disability studies and visual rhetoric.
Phillip Cornwell Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Phillip Cornwell is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1989 and his present interests include structural dynamics, structural health monitoring, and undergraduate engineering education. Dr. Cornwell has received an SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award in 1992, and the Dean’s Outstanding Teacher award at Rose-Hulman in 2000 and the Rose-Hulman Board of Trustee’s Outstanding Scholar Award in 2001. He was one of the developers of the Rose-Hulman Sophomore Engineering Curriculum, the Dynamics Concept Inventory, and he is a co-author of Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics, by Beer, Johnston, Cornwell, and Self.
James Mayhew Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
James Mayhew is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He teaches courses in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, measurement systems, and aerospace engineering. He was a USAF officer for 13 years before joining Rose-Hulman.
Abstract
Engineering students can benefit from intentional development and reinforcement of technical communication (TC) skills throughout their undergraduate studies. In this paper we will present a flow chart that captures all TC instruction currently taking place in the mechanical engineering (ME) undergraduate curriculum at Rose-Hulman. This flow chart reveals information and patterns that have existed for years but have never been assembled in an easy-to-access format. We document the process of collecting this information and gathering feedback from colleagues. We then consider how the flowchart might help the department improve the way we teach TC. Using memos as a test case, we develop threshold concepts that could help faculty more intentionally scaffold writing experiences across the curriculum. We conclude by outlining next steps for implementation.
Bercich, R., & Summers, S., & Cornwell, P., & Mayhew, J. (2018, June), Technical Communication Across the ME Curriculum at Rose-Hulman Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31067
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