Technical communication across the ME curriculum at rose-hulman

Abstract

Engineering students can benefit from intentional development and reinforcement of technical communication (TC) skills throughout their undergraduate studies. In this paper we will present a flow chart that captures all TC instruction currently taking place in the mechanical engineering (ME) undergraduate curriculum at Rose-Hulman. This flow chart reveals information and patterns that have existed for years but have never been assembled in an easy-to-access format. We document the process of collecting this information and gathering feedback from colleagues. We then consider how the flowchart might help the department improve the way we teach TC. Using memos as a test case, we develop threshold concepts that could help faculty more intentionally scaffold writing experiences across the curriculum. We conclude by outlining next steps for implementation.