A message from recent engineering graduates in the workplace: Results of a survey on technical communication skills

Journal of Engineering Education

Volumn 90, Issue 4, 2001, Pages 685-693

  Sageev, Pneena ^a   Romanowski, Carol J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO   (United States)

^b the State University of New York   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CURRICULA; JOB ANALYSIS; LABORATORIES; STUDENTS; TEACHING; TECHNICAL WRITING;

ENGINEERING GRADUATES; ENGINEERING PROFESSORS; GRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS; INFORMATION MODELS;

ENGINEERING EDUCATION;

EID: 19644399051     PISSN: 10694730     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/j.2168-9830.2001.tb00660.x     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (13)

1. Sageev, P., F. Prieto, and A.J. Smaczniak, 'Technical communications in the engineering curriculum: an example of industry-university cooperation," Conference Record, 1992 IEEE Professional Communication Society, IPCC, Santa Fe, 1992.
2. Gaboury, J., "30 ways to be a better IE," IIE Solutions, vol. 31, no. 1, 1999, pp. 28-35. In this article, the author quotes Professor Jerry Banks of Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Industrial and Systems Engineering: "Surveys of our graduates continue to tell us that the two most important courses they took at Georgia Tech were public speaking and technical writing." She also cites Dean Fullerton, industrial engineer supervisor at United Parcel Service: "You can't just know how to do your job, you need to be able to communicate."
3. Vest, D., M. Long, and T. Anderson, "Electrical Engineers' Perceptions of Communication Training and Their Recommendations for Curricular Change: Results of a National Survey," IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, vol. 39, no. 1, March 1996, pp. 38-42.
4. Rogers, Jr., D., M.J. Stratton, and R.E. King, "Manufacturing Education Plan: 1999 Critical Competency Gaps," Society of Manufacturing Engineers and SME Education Foundation, 1999.
5. Mayne, R.W., Personal communication and initial draft. A survey of mechanical engineering seniors who evaluated the knowledge and skills they gained at UB revealed that students did not receive TC instruction commensurate with their "importance ranking" of "communication skills" needed by entry-level engineers.
6. Center for Technical Communication, exit surveys of TC students, 1987-1999.
7. Sageev, P., Helping researchers -write...so managers can understand, Battelle Press, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus OH, 1994. Using the valuable first-hand information contained in 1307 survey replies from 70 companies worldwide, documented in this book, the author developed and taught courses for engineers, scientists, and managers at Battelle and in several other companies.
8. Gorman, M., et al., "Transforming the Engineering Curriculum: Lessons Learned from a Summer at Boeing," Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 90, no. 1, 2001, pp. 143-149. This article describes the collaboration of the Boeing Corporation with engineering educators through a special summer fellowship program. Among the "lessons learned" is the importance of including a component of written and oral communication in grading engineering effort.
9. Sageev, P., B. Ortiz, W. Grunert, "Industry Mentors in a Technical Communications Program," Conference Record, 1994 IEEE Professional Communication Society, IPCC, pp. 418-423.
10. Piirto, J., "Speech: An Enhancement to (Technical) Writing," Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 89, no. 1, 2000, pp. 21-23. The author emphasizes that including a speaking element in a "technical writing assignment can improve a student's speaking and writing proficiency."
11. Center for Technical Communication, internal technical communication review, Spring 1998.
12. Seat, E., J.R. Parsons, and W.A. Poppen, "Enabling Engineering Performance Skills: A Program to Teach Communication, Leadership, and Teamwork," Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 90, no. 1, 2001, pp. 7-12. This insightful article describes an innovative minor in "Engineering Communication and Performance" the engineering school developed in conjunction with counseling psychology and human services. From a teaching perspective, a key element that contributed to their instruction's success was the recognition that engineers typically learn in a particular, problem-solving style. They therefore molded and geared all their courses to this learning style. For the past 15 years, this very approach has guided the development of all our TC courses at UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
13. Pendergrass, N.A., et al., "Improving First-Year Engineering Education," Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 90, no. 1, 2001, pp. 33-41. The authors describe a new freshman curriculum that integrates sequences in physics, calculus, chemistry, English, and engineering. They then describe the program impacts on students' increased passing rates.