Exploring Engineering instructors’ views about writing and online tools to support communication in Engineering

ABSTRACT To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students’ preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics’ perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in the discipline, but it is not believed to be essential to success in engineering. Online writing tools were believed to support a larger number of students, but low knowledge of the tools limited academics’ understanding of their usefulness in teaching and learning. Implications for innovation in undergraduate teaching are discussed.

[1]  Jennifer Turns,et al.  Looking Toward the Real World: Student Conceptions of Engineering , 2011 .

[2]  Eric N. Wiebe,et al.  Writing to Learn by Learning to Write in the Disciplines , 2007 .

[3]  Richard Bell,et al.  A manual for repertory grid technique , 1977 .

[4]  Ana-Paula Correia,et al.  Learn to use and use to learn: Technology in virtual collaboration experience , 2009, Internet High. Educ..

[5]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[6]  Varun Gauria,et al.  Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 2019 .

[7]  Linda Ann Riley,et al.  Integrating Communication and Engineering Education: A Look at Curricula, Courses, and Support Systems , 2003 .

[8]  M. Josephine Ellis.  Peer feedback on writing: Is on-line actually better than on-paper? , 2011 .

[9]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies , 2000, Management Science.

[10]  Robert L. McDonald,et al.  Writing in Engineering Courses , 2000 .

[11]  P. Kwok.  The role of context in teachers' concerns about the implementation of an innovative curriculum , 2014 .

[12]  O. B. Assaraf,et al.  The repertory grid as a tool for evaluating the development of students’ ecological system thinking abilities , 2014 .

[13]  Barney Dalgarno,et al.  Digital divides? Student and staff perceptions of information and communication technologies , 2010, Comput. Educ..

[14]  Joanne Lax,et al.  Laying a foundation for academic writing in engineering: Helping international graduate students write in English , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC).

[15]  J. Emig.  Writing as a Mode of Learning. , 1977 .

[16]  Venkateshviswanath,et al.  A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model , 2000 .

[17]  Carolyn Boiarsky,et al.  Teaching Engineering Students to Communicate Effectively: a Metacognitive Approach* , 2004 .

[18]  Icek Ajzen,et al.  From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior , 1985 .

[19]  Jos Vander Sloten,et al.  A technical writing programme implemented in a first-year engineering course at KU Leuven , 2013 .

[20]  Rafael A. Calvo,et al.  Collaborative writing: too much of a good thing? Exploring engineering students' perceptions using the Repertory Grid , 2011, CSCL.

[21]  Rafael A. Calvo,et al.  Affect-Aware Reflective Writing Studios , 2015 .

[22]  Jeroen Lievens.  Debunking the 'Nerd' Myth: Doing Action Research with First-year Engineering Students in the Academic Writing Class , 2012 .

[23]  Timothy A. G. Langrish,et al.  Online Approach to Teaching Report Writing in Chemical Engineering: Implementation and Evaluation* , 2006 .

[24]  Linda Ann Riley,et al.  Assessing Our Engineering Alumni: Determinants of Success in the Workplace , 2000 .

[25]  Jon A. Leydens,et al.  Innovations in Composition Programs that Educate Engineers: Drivers, Opportunities, and Challenges , 2009 .

[26]  P. Honey,et al.  The repertory grid in action , 1979 .

[27]  E. Straub.  Understanding Technology Adoption: Theory and Future Directions for Informal Learning , 2009 .

[28]  Sarah L. Gassman,et al.  Supporting students’ disciplinary writing in engineering education , 2013 .

[29]  Kalina Yacef,et al.  Collaborative Writing Support Tools on the Cloud , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies.

[30]  Ibis M. Álvarez,et al.  The value of feedback in improving collaborative writing assignments in an online learning environment , 2012 .

[31]  Hae Yong Kim,et al.  Data Hiding for Printed Binary Documents Robust to Print-Scan, Photocopy and Geometric Attacks , 2008 .

[32]  Mary Kaye Jordan,et al.  The Role of Writing in Graduate Engineering Education: A Survey of Faculty Beliefs and Practices. , 1993 .

[33]  Paul Benjamin Lowry,et al.  An Overview and Tutorial of the Repertory Grid Technique in Information Systems Research , 2008, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[34]  Sid Nair,et al.  Industry vs Universities: Re-engineering Graduate Skills - A case study , 2008 .

[35]  Paul D. Umbach,et al.  How Do Academic Departments Impact Student Satisfaction? Understanding the Contextual Effects of Departments , 2001 .

[36]  Vivien Rolfe.  Can Turnitin be used to provide instant formative feedback? , 2011, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[37]  Loren Olson,et al.  The digital culture degree: A competency-based interdisciplinary program spanning engineering and the arts , 2013, 2013 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE).

[38]  Iris Geva-May,et al.  Attitudes Affecting Online learning Implementation in Higher Education , 2009 .

[39]  Jim Hewitt,et al.  Influence of group configuration on online discourse writing , 2014, Comput. Educ..

[40]  Lee-Ann K Breuch,et al.  Toward a Complexity of Online Learning: Learners in Online First-Year Writing , 2013 .

[41]  I. Ajzen.  The theory of planned behavior , 1991 .

[42]  Peggy A. Ertmer.  Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? , 2005 .