2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Communication competence is described by the National Academy of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as one of the top four career competencies most valued by employers. In a 2019 job outlook survey, oral and written communication rated consistently high in the past three years. Also, proficient communication is an essential attribute needed for engineers in the 21st Century to create an inclusive environment and engage multiple stakeholders, as indicated by the National Academy of Engineering. In particular, the ability to communicate effectively to various audiences across the STEM disciplines and the public is a great need. The engineering program at the [blinded University] aims to fulfill the NACE’s professional competencies for career readiness by devising new methodologies for communication-oriented pedagogy. Current research shows that integrating writing assignments into discipline-specific coursework is an effective strategy to accomplish this objective. Thus, the [Blinded University] has explored implementing oral and process writing assignments into a creative thinking engineering undergraduate course work to fulfill a state communication requirement as well as satisfy the NACE professional proficiency.
This paper highlights an approach for developing communication competencies in a design thinking project-based engineering course. In an attempt to teach students how to develop and communicate ideas within the field to different audiences, the [Blinded University] embedded pre-writing, co-authoring, revising, and editing strategies to a first-year engineering course. In so doing, an aspect of the oral and written communication needs between industry and academia should be mitigated. Though the students learning outcomes are assessed prematurely, the proper impact of such implementation might take extended periods when these students advance to upper-level courses. Hence, the promotion of students’ communication capabilities in engineering courses needs further evaluation. However, herein students develop technical writing skills, visual and oral communication skills as individuals and collaboratively. Documentation formats consist of process writing exercises, executive summaries, scientific research reports, and other forms of engineering communication. The work presented may prompt a feasibility study for specific integration of communication competencies in traditional coursework in engineering programs. Therefore, induce a transformative representation of a range of professional applications of communication skills that STEM programs foster.