Development of Technical Writing Skills During An Undergraduate Laboratory Course Bill Josephson Auburn University Keywords: ABET G, Individual Report Writing, Effective Communication, Unit Ops Lab

Why? ‘cause Students don’t write good enuff o CHEN 3820 – Junior Level Chem Eng Lab Course w/ usual objectives of a) reinforcement of technical knowledge & b) development of communications skills o Traditional Structure of Experiments Performed by Groups, Most Reports Written by Groups o Group Structure Allows for Individuals with Below Average Skills to Fly Under the Radar Proposal: Increase the %age of Reports Written by Individuals, Provide Feedback, Opportunity for Re-Writes, etc.

When? I have been teaching this course or its equivalent since 2001 After the 2005 Rigorous Research in Engineering Education Workshop I implemented a Tech Writing exercise at the beginning of each semester involving LEGO Model Instructions Fall 2008 – Started Individual Report Writing for Last Experiment of Semester Fall 2009 – Started Individual Report Writing for 1 st (simple) Experiment of Semester (Experiment was Diet Coke & Mentos, changed to a Dice Rolling Experiment in 2013) Fall 2015 – Dropped the 1 st Simple Experiment of Semester, mandated Individual Report Writing for 1 st & Last Experiments of Semester

Where? Latest implementation is with all sections of Auburn’s CHEN 3820 Chemical Engineering Laboratory I Class CHEN 3820 is offered every semester, typical enrollments are 45/50/8 in Fall/Spring/Summer (in 3/3/1 sections) Weekly Schedule: 50 minute lecture, 2 hour & 45 minute lab session Report Structure: Title Page / Honesty Statement/ Abstract / Background / Equipment & Procedures / Results & Discussion / Conclusions & Recommendations / Appendices

What? This Semester: 1 st Experiment (Centrifugal Pump) done by the section as a whole; Individual Reports Subsequent Experiments done by Groups, Group Reports Except for...Semester’s Last Experiment – done by Groups, Individual Reports Lessons Learned: changed feedback mechanism from written comments to audio commentaries delivered via mp3 files Hoped For Results (i.e., my theory of change): more individual efforts (on part of the students) & individual attention (on my part) leads to increased development of tech writing skills So Far: Baby Steps have been completed (1 st Bullet Point) without major pain, waiting to see final effect (i.e., change in quality of final individual reports)

Prognosis? Determination of Results: comparison of Final Individual Reports with those of previous semesters Scale-Up: Potential for Major Challenge o replacement of ≈ 10 Group Reports w/ ≈ 45 individual reports = significant increase in grading time/effort (minimum of 20 minutes / report graded) o time investment is reason for slow phase-in (initial proposal envisioned all reports done on individual basis) Other potential issue: conflict with ABET D (ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams) – will increased emphasis on individual efforts lead to de-emphasis of teaming responsibilities? From FOEE: discussion of rigorous evaluation of “ability to communicate effectively”, especially in classes with many students