Board 27: Improving Student Writing with Research-based Instruction: Results from the Civil Engineering Writing Project

Susan Conrad; Timothy James Pfeiffer; Kenneth Lamb

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29995
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/29995
Download Count: 645

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Paper Authors

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Susan Conrad Portland State University

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Susan Conrad, Professor of Applied Linguistics, is the head of the Civil Engineering Writing Project, in which engineering faculty, engineering practitioners, and writing specialists collaborate to improve writing instruction in civil engineering courses. She has written numerous articles and books about English grammar, discourse, and corpus linguistics.

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Timothy James Pfeiffer P.E. Foundation Engineering, Inc.

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Mr. Pfeiffer is a senior engineer and manager at Foundation Engineering in Portland, Oregon.

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Kenneth Lamb P.E., Ph.D California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Kenneth is an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly Pomona. Kenneth is a licensed Professional Engineer in Nevada with experience working on a variety of water, storm water, and waster water systems projects. He holds degrees from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (BSCE and PhD) and from Norwich University (MCE).

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Abstract

This poster presentation will provide an overview of the cycle of research and teaching used in the Civil Engineering Writing Project to improve students' preparation for writing in the workplace. Our goal is to improve students’ writing by integrating writing instruction into existing courses and assignments, rather than through major curriculum changes, so that new instruction can be implemented more easily and quickly. The project received funding through the Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES) program. Although the project focuses on civil engineering, the model is adaptable to any STEM discipline.

In the first phase of the project, we analyzed student writing and effective practitioner writing. We worked with engineers in industry to identify the features of student writing that would be most problematic in engineering practice. In the second phase of the project, we designed teaching materials targeted at the problems, piloted the materials at four universities, and analyzed new student writing to assess the impact of the materials.

In particular, the poster will emphasize the assessment measures and results. We conduct four types of assessment measures: linguistic analyses (analyzing the frequency and effectiveness of features such as active/passive voice use, word choices, and sentence structure); genre analyses (assessing organization and content sequencing); errors in grammar and mechanics (frequency and gravity of errors); and holistic evaluations of effectiveness (as judged by an engineering practitioner). We also gather data about student reactions with surveys and interviews. Materials have been piloted in over 20 courses at 4 universities, and results have been positive for all assessment measures. Student comments demonstrate, in particular, that the new materials stimulate many students to reassess misconceptions they have about writing in engineering and that the students appreciate seeing examples of effective practitioner writing.

The poster will exemplify some of the changes we have seen in student writing and student reactions. It will also highlight the need for collaboration among engineering faculty, engineering practitioners, and writing specialists to make a project such as this successful.

Citation
Format

Conrad, S., & Pfeiffer, T. J., & Lamb, K. (2018, June), Board 27: Improving Student Writing with Research-based Instruction: Results from the Civil Engineering Writing Project Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29995

TY - CPAPER
AB - This poster presentation will provide an overview of the cycle of research and teaching used in the Civil Engineering Writing Project to improve students&#39; preparation for writing in the workplace. Our goal is to improve students’ writing by integrating writing instruction into existing courses and assignments, rather than through major curriculum changes, so that new instruction can be implemented more easily and quickly. The project received funding through the Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES) program. Although the project focuses on civil engineering, the model is adaptable to any STEM discipline.

In the first phase of the project, we analyzed student writing and effective practitioner writing. We worked with engineers in industry to identify the features of student writing that would be most problematic in engineering practice. In the second phase of the project, we designed teaching materials targeted at the problems, piloted the materials at four universities, and analyzed new student writing to assess the impact of the materials.

In particular, the poster will emphasize the assessment measures and results. We conduct four types of assessment measures: linguistic analyses (analyzing the frequency and effectiveness of features such as active/passive voice use, word choices, and sentence structure); genre analyses (assessing organization and content sequencing); errors in grammar and mechanics (frequency and gravity of errors); and holistic evaluations of effectiveness (as judged by an engineering practitioner). We also gather data about student reactions with surveys and interviews. Materials have been piloted in over 20 courses at 4 universities, and results have been positive for all assessment measures. Student comments demonstrate, in particular, that the new materials stimulate many students to reassess misconceptions they have about writing in engineering and that the students appreciate seeing examples of effective practitioner writing.

The poster will exemplify some of the changes we have seen in student writing and student reactions. It will also highlight the need for collaboration among engineering faculty, engineering practitioners, and writing specialists to make a project such as this successful.

AU - Susan Conrad
AU - Timothy James Pfeiffer P.E.
AU - Kenneth Lamb P.E., Ph.D
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 27: Improving Student Writing with Research-based Instruction: Results from the Civil Engineering Writing Project
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/29995
DO - 10.18260/1-2--29995
ER -