From workplace to classroom - Document workflow and engineering communication pedagogy

Abstract

Engineering educators recognize the importance of communication in the development of their students. And yet, given the constraints of offering professional and technical communication courses in the college and university setting, engineering students are often not taught communication in the context of actual engineering workplace practices. To remedy this gap, we have chosen to focus the forthcoming IEEE Guide to Writing in the Engineering and Technical Professions (IEEE Wiley 2016) on communication as it is practiced in engineering workplaces. Using interviews with working engineers, we introduce the concept of document workflow. Workflow provides students with a more realistic view of the kinds of documents and types of communication they will confront when they enter the engineering workplace.