Developing a writing in the disciplines program in an engineering technology college

Abstract

Faculty members from the Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies Department at the University of Cincinnati's College of Applied Science have long worked with students on their projects in Senior Design Capstone courses. However, both co-op employers and faculty have expressed concern over the quality of student writing. The autumn 2006 American Board of Engineering Technology (ABET) site visit underscored the importance of developing new approaches to foster clear and cogent writing in the technical disciplines. This paper outlines the writing faculty's response to these concerns and how they collaborated with faculty members in the engineering technology departments to develop an integrated program of mid-level writing instruction in the technical disciplines. A multi-faceted program emerged: collaboration among writing faculty and technical faculty; development of interdisciplinary writing instruction in mid-level technical courses; the utilization of grading rubrics to enhance the importance of writing and communication skills in technical courses; the formation of a discourse community; and the creation of e-portfolios to enhance reflection and illuminate connections among the students' technical and Humanities courses. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2008.