Instructional Modules for Teaching Written, Oral, and Graphical Communication Skills to Engineering Students

EC 2000 requires that engineering students learn and demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively, which in an engineering environment implies oral, written, and graphical communication skills. The already overcrowded curriculum and pedagogical considerations makes adding communications courses unacceptable. We prepared three short instructional modules suitable for teaching these skills in any engineering course as a part of a more extensive program to develop instructional modules in several EC 2000 skill areas. Each module uses three 50-minute classes and relies on active-cooperative learning strategies and Internet-based resources. Instructional material includes PowerPoint slides, in-class team activities, homework assignments, and an instructor guide. We have tested each module in an evaluation program where a faculty member who did not develop the module taught it to approximately ten students. These data showed improvement in the students’ confidence in their ability to complete tasks identified in the module’s learning objectives. They also indicated that the learning objectives were clear and supported by the material, that the justifications were clear and convincing, that the lecture material, team activities, and assignments were appropriate