Improving the Ability of Engineering Students to Communicate Their Technical Discoveries to Non-Technical Audiences

1. Improving the Ability of Engineering Students to Communicate Their Technical Discoveries to Non-Technical Audiences Deborah M. Sinnreich-Levi Susan Staffin Metz David Silverstein

2. Everyone agrees… • Communication skills are crucial for engineering students. • NAE • ABET • AAAS • NSF • Employers • The public • Faculty advisors • And sometimes students. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

3. Stevens’ curriculum • Writing intensive classes in Humanities • Six 2-3 page papers • 1 or more oral reports • Engineering design spine • Runs through entire curriculum • Now includes communications workshops in semesters 6, 7, 8 Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

4. EIF grant period:Workshops Fall 2009-Spring 2010 • Spring 2009: • biomedical (4) • electrical (2) • computer engineering (2). • Fall 2009: • biomedical (2) • electrical (1) • computer (2) • mechanical (1) • civil (1) • chemical engineering (1). Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

5. Workshops consider Audience Rhetorical appeal Technical writing concerns Formal report structures Transmitting data using visual aids Other presentation considerations Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

6. Audience • Why are you giving this presentation? • What is your goal? • Who is your audience? • How technically informed are the audience members? • Are you speaking to colleagues, superiors or people from an entirely different area? • How large is your audience? Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

7. Aristotelian Rhetorical Appeals ETHOS stems from the moral character of the speaker rhetorical triangle LOGOS PATHOS based in emotional appeal derived from logical argument Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

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11. Students’ pre- and post-intervention self evaluation showed they were better able to: • Write a document that effectively explains a complex technical topic. • 30% rose to 42%. • Describe a technical design so that a non-technical person can describe it to someone else. • 22% rose to 38 %. • Develop a speech or paper effectively for a specific audience. • 7% rose to 33%. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

12. Room for improvement • Students who began with especially poor self-confidence actually reported less confidence after the intervention. • “Some or no ability” • To develop a speech or paper effectively for a specific audience (23%28%), • Keep an audience engaged in a speech that they give (30%  35%). Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

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14. Three areas students want to improve in. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

15. What abilities students want from the workshops Make engineering interesting 16% Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

16. Changes in the workshop series • Original workshops: • Presentation Techniques • Technical Writing Considerations • Revised workshop list: • Introduction to Technical Writing Considerations • Advanced Technical Writing Strategies • Introduction to Presentation Skills • Advanced Presentation Skills and MS PowerPoint Features Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

17. Additional workshops developed Spring 2010 • The Writing Process: How to Organize Your Thoughts • Writing Abstracts, Introductions, and Conclusions • Business English for ESL Students • Citing and Summarizing Outside Sources for ESL Students Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

18. Specific additions to the content of Communication Workshops • How To Tell A Story With Your Information • How will the audience apply these ideas, use this item, or buy this service? • How To Alter Your Message for Various Audiences • How must the story be different for different audiences? Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

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20. Other points added to presentation workshops… • How various companies rephrase or reposition similar information for less and more technically minded cohorts: • Using less or more technical detail • Using different graphics • Choosing different levels • Greater use of familiar images and keywords for lay-audiences • Higher level of diction as well as appropriate use of jargon, acronyms, footnotes, embedded links, and references for technical audiences. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

21. What did students learn? Preparing a PowerPoint Slide Show: • Use professional templates. • Proofread documents. • Have less clutter on slides. • Be direct and clear when writing and creating slides. • Keep audience in mind. Giving an Oral Presentation: • Practice the presentation with some friends prior to the presentation. • Test the PowerPoint on a projector prior to the presentation. • Interact with the audience. • Slow down when speaking. • Explain technical terms. • Focus on different ways to communicate with different audiences. • Avoid note cards. • Know slides well enough to speak from them. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

22. What do students suggest? • Give the workshop to freshmen engineering students. • Focus on how to practice giving a presentation. • Have groups give presentations and get critiques from different audiences. • Provide more practical advice or tactics on how to get yourself out trouble during a presentation (recollect yourself). • Make the workshop a full course on professional communications for engineers. Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

23. Teams judged on: • Organization and development • Delivery • Use of slides (5 max) • Content • Judges: • Writing Director • Dean of Student Life • Director of Coop Program Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010

24. Not the end… Sinnreich-Levi ASEE 2010