Writing and Engineering – Perfect Together

Lynn Mayo; Katie Wheaton

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Civil Engineering Division - Huh? What Did You Say? What Does That Mean?
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40443
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/40443
Download Count: 293

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Lynn Mayo RePIcture

visit author page

Lynn Mayo, PE is Co-Founder of RePicture. After working for over 30 years as an engineer, Lynn dreamed of a better way to help students and professionals discover careers shaping the future. So, she co-founded RePicture. RePicture is a public benefit corporation with a mission to increase interest and diversity in STEM. RePicture helps college and high school students make better career choices by helping them explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), develop critical professional skills such as networking, and boost their STEM resume. Through our technology platform and community, RePicture.com, students tell the story of STEM all around us and discover diverse role models. The RePicture Program is helping students “breaking through” the artificial barriers that prevent many from pursuing and flourishing in STEM by building their STEM identity, moving beyond what they know, and showing them what is possible.

visit author page

biography

Katie Wheaton

visit author page

Katie P. Wheaton is a Senior Instructor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department of Case Western Reserve University. She teaches undergraduate courses related to Structural Design, Surveying, Computer Graphics, and Civil Engineering Systems. She is the faculty advisor for CWRU's American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter.

Before her work in teaching, Katie P. Wheaton worked as a structural engineer for Thornton-Tomasetti-Cutts in Washington, D.C. and Osborn Engineering in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work in industry focused on steel and concrete building design, as well as project management for multi-disciplinary design teams. Buildings she has worked on include stadiums, dormitories, libraries, athletic centers, museums, and offices. She is a registered Professional Civil Engineer in the State of Ohio and a registered Structural Engineer in the State of Illinois.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Good communication skills are essential for engineers. Approximately half of an engineer’s workday is spent in communication-related tasks. Many job postings for entry-level engineers indicate they are looking for people with strong oral and written communication skills.

Communication learning objectives are typically taught in a university’s general engineering coursework, as part of a stand-alone communication course. It is seldom integrated into the student’s dedicated major. However, good writing skills are developed over time and not over a single course. When instructors expect students to use written or oral communication in coursework, but do not provide formal instruction on the topic, students may fail to improve their communication skills beyond what they already know. Students who are strong at communicating stay strong, while less proficient students do not improve. For upper-class students who are about to enter the professional working world, their current proficiency in communication may be the difference between receiving a desirable job offer or not.

This paper discusses a writing assignment used in 2020 and 2021 in an upper-level Structural Engineering class at a private university in the Midwest. The assignment follows a lesson plan developed by a public benefit corporation and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).

The assignment was designed to help students in several ways, including:

• Practice writing skills • Engage with technical concepts and relate what they are learning to actual projects • Better understand the breath of their engineering career options • Create online material that they can include on their resume

The structural engineering assignment is a modification of a lesson plan developed by a public benefit corporation that can be used for any science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) course. For this assignment, students research and write about a structural engineering project and then post their article on a STEM website. The STEM website platform includes an instructor dashboard which allows the instructor to review and privately comment on the student’s work. Once their work is completed, the student can then publish it on the website for the world to see. Students can use this online article as a sample of their writing abilities, demonstrate their depth of knowledge about structural engineering projects to potential employers, and enter contests sponsored by AISC. Students can refer to their published article on their resume to stand out to employers, which is of particular benefit to those with no engineering-related work experience.

The majority of students provided positive feedback about the assignment and recommended the assignment be used again. The students indicated that they enjoyed connecting a real project to what they learned in class, gained further direction in their career aspirations, and liked the freedom to focus on the aspects of the engineering project that most interested them.

Citation
Format

Mayo, L., & Wheaton, K. (2022, August), Writing and Engineering – Perfect Together Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40443

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Good communication skills are essential for engineers. Approximately half of an engineer’s workday is spent in communication-related tasks. Many job postings for entry-level engineers indicate they are looking for people with strong oral and written communication skills. 

Communication learning objectives are typically taught in a university’s general engineering coursework, as part of a stand-alone communication course.  It is seldom integrated into the student’s dedicated major. However, good writing skills are developed over time and not over a single course.  When instructors expect students to use written or oral communication in coursework, but do not provide formal instruction on the topic, students may fail to improve their communication skills beyond what they already know. Students who are strong at communicating stay strong, while less proficient students do not improve.  For upper-class students who are about to enter the professional working world, their current proficiency in communication may be the difference between receiving a desirable job offer or not. 

This paper discusses a writing assignment used in 2020 and 2021 in an upper-level Structural Engineering class at a private university in the Midwest.  The assignment follows a lesson plan developed by a public benefit corporation and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).

The assignment was designed to help students in several ways, including:

•	Practice writing skills
•	Engage with technical concepts and relate what they are learning to actual projects 
•	Better understand the breath of their engineering career options
•	Create online material that they can include on their resume

The structural engineering assignment is a modification of a lesson plan developed by a public benefit corporation that can be used for any science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) course.  For this assignment, students research and write about a structural engineering project and then post their article on a STEM website.  The STEM website platform includes an instructor dashboard which allows the instructor to review and privately comment on the student’s work. Once their work is completed, the student can then publish it on the website for the world to see.  Students can use this online article as a sample of their writing abilities, demonstrate their depth of knowledge about structural engineering projects to potential employers, and enter contests sponsored by AISC.  Students can refer to their published article on their resume to stand out to employers, which is of particular benefit to those with no engineering-related work experience.  

The majority of students provided positive feedback about the assignment and recommended the assignment be used again.  The students indicated that they enjoyed connecting a real project to what they learned in class, gained further direction in their career aspirations, and liked the freedom to focus on the aspects of the engineering project that most interested them. 

AU  - Lynn Mayo
AU  - Katie Wheaton
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Writing and Engineering – Perfect Together
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/40443
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40443
ER  -