The students use a variety of writing projects in these courses. Some are individual, some are group, some are short reports, others are on-line presentations, and some are cumulative across a semester. The students write for different audiences; for instance, a group of engineers would expect a passive style heavy on technical details while consumers would expect an active vvoice that is less detailed and provides more reasons for choices. I believe that the writing forces students to make decisions, explain those decisions, and communicate their decisions in an appropriate manner. The learning becomes deeper when they have to articulate their thinking through writing.
| ImplementationThe students explain their work through a variety of writing projects. In AE 421, they write both a one-page marketing paper and create a design group report that often exceeds 100 pages. The AE 508 paper is a group technical report. The students use a virtual medium in AE 510 to create a presentation. By varying the type of project, I provide students with an opportunity to analyze, communicate, and defend their decision-making process.
| Student PerformanceThis broader and deeper understanding of the material also shows up when our students enter and win national design competitions. These competitions are judged by professionals, not academics, and professionals look for projects that show a solid design plan, implementation, and explanation. Because our students have to document and explain their decisions throughout course projects, they are well prepared to use professional judgment in their creations.
| ReflectionsIn order to do curriculum reforms, we will consider several ways of integrating teaching and research. We need to work together on teaching across courses so that we use writing and make connections beyond the three-course sequence. We have already decided to extend the writing to two other courses, and that means we will have to plan together how we implement the work. The research that we are doing can also be connected to course work; this will provide more realistic integration of the academic and the professional world. Because we are part of a university, we can also connect disciplines that are part of the larger professional practice and thus give students an even more realistic education.
| Summary