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Bibliography on Assessment Issues in Engineering Communication
A bibliography on engineering communication assessment.
Rice University (1999). Resources>Bibliographies>Engineering>Technical Writing
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Consortium for the Study of Engineering Communication
The Consortium for the Study of Engineering Communication consists of individual engineering communication scholars from six professional organizations and ten universities who are interested in research relating to the Acreditation Board for Engineering and Technology's Engineering Criteria 2000, expecially EC3(g): 'the ability to communicate effectively.' They are working together on research and development projects to identify best communication practices of successful engineers in industry and ways of assessing students' communication performances. Collaboration with others concerned with engineering communication and assessment is welcome. Please see the list of members or the list of organizations represented for further information or contact us.
Rice University. Organizations>Education>Engineering>Technical Writing
#21805
Linking Industry Best Practices and EC3(g) Assessment in Engineering Communication
Enthusiastic comments about 3(g)--one of the most widely appreciated ABET 2000 criteria--have masked disagreements about what 'effectiveness' is and how it should be defined in relation to schools' missions. Most of the methods that have been recommended for assessing engineering communication imitate procedures used for large-scale testing in English composition. The main purpose of this paper is to show that these methods have nothing to do with effectiveness or audience, and that they provide meager feedback to guide curriculum improvement. This uncertainty provides an opportunity for cooperation between engineering and communication faculty in individual institutions as well as between ASEE and professional organizations in engineering communication. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of industry best practices seem well suited to provide engineering schools with assessment strategies that can be updated as communication practices in industry change. Research projects should focus on exemplars' adaptations to new technologies and audiences. Collaboration between organizations for technical communication and the ASEE and between faculty from engineering and faculty from technical communication on individual campuses can ensure that engineering programs are realistically preparing students to meet future challenges.
Driskill, Linda. Rice University (2000). Articles>Education>Engineering>Assessment
#21806
Rethinking the Evaluation of Writing in Engineering Courses 
The objective of this paper is to bring about a reevaluation of writing assessment practices in engineering classes. The authors begin by drawing rhetoric (the knowledge base of effective technical communication) and engineering together, explaining how engineering work is rhetorical. From this theoretical vantage point, the authors argue for a change in engineering writing assessment practices. Specifically, they argue for an approach that favors formative assessment (focused on writing comments that lead to both better writing and better engineering) over summative assessment (which sees writing ability as separate from engineering design). The authors continue by revealing a scoring guide for the formative assessment of engineering reports, and detailing the process by which such a scoring guide may be created. Each criterion in the scoring guide is explained in terms of the rhetorical and engineering principles that it simultaneously addresses.
Swarts, Jason and Lee Odell. Rice University (2001). Articles>Education>Engineering>Technical Writing
