1. Integrating Teaming, Writing, and Speaking in CHE Unit Operations Lab Integrating Teaming, Writing, and Speaking in CHE Unit Operations Lab Dave Kmiec, Chris M. Anson, Paula Berardinelli, Lisa Bullard, Deanna P. Dannels, Steven Peretti, James J. Spivey North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Goal: to provide instruction in technical writing, oral presentation, and teaming within the context of a laboratory course Since appearing in the required ABET competencies in EC 2000, fragments of teaming, writing, and speaking education have been distributed, sometimes haphazardly, across the core courses in engineering departments nationwide or delegated to service departments. Searching for an alternative method of integrating these new competencies, a team of researchers at North Carolina State University has constructed a junior-level discipline-specific teaming, writing, and speaking (TWS) module and consultation series. The TWS instruction is a discipline-specific module and consultation series designed to complement a junior-level chemical engineering laboratory survey course. Motivation WeekScheduled Events 1TWS Module 1—Teaming: Making the real team more ideal 2Lab Experiment 1 3Consultation 1—Theme: Report organization 4 TWS Module 2—Writing: Collaborative writing and editing (Lab report 1 due) 5Lab Experiment 2 6Consultation 2—Theme: Proper citation 7 TWS Module 3—Teaming: Recognizing and reconciling the interpersonal aspects of teaming (Lab report 2 due) 8Lab Experiment 3 9Consultation 3—Theme: Graphics and layout 10 TWS Module 4—Speaking: preparing and delivering collaborative presentations (Lab report 3 due) 11Lab Experiment 4 12Consultation 4—Theme: Presentation practice 13(Lab report 4 due and student oral presentations) Program Components Core Competencies Typical Schedule In addition to a weekly statistics and experimental design lecture, students have a dedicated 3 hour weekly lab time. The TWS module is conducted on non-lab weeks during this lab time. Consultations are scheduled individually. The table below shows one possible semester schedule. Modules Class meets 4 times per semester with consultant Develop collaborative oral and written technical communication skills Address preparation of oral & written lab reports Identify and resolve issues related to writing, speaking, and interpersonal interaction Consultations Team meets 4 times per semester with consultant Discuss reports or presentations in progress Facilitate application of communication concepts & collaborative techniques taught in the module. Assignments Maintain project management charts and notebooks Recorded meeting and assignment information Reflections on teaming efficiency ProficiencyCorresponding skills Collaborative technical writing write collaboratively function as a peer editor Collaborative technical presentation convey technical material orally in a way appropriate to the audience work collaboratively to design and conduct a technical presentation Teaming identify and fulfill team roles create, use, and revise team ground rules recognize and manage conflict in teams recognize and manage decision making in teams provide frequent and productive feedback to peers regarding teaming, writing, and speaking skills In addition to a weekly statistics and experimental design lecture, students have a dedicated 3 hour weekly lab time. The TWS module is conducted on non-lab weeks during this lab time. TWS Consultations are scheduled individually. The table below shows one possible semester schedule. Results By the end of the semester, students randomly selected to participate in the TWS module series were performing significantly better on writing and speaking tasks than students in a control group. (TWS students’ teaming performance is still being analyzed.) Website For instructional materials, implementation suggestions, and performance data, visit the website at http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/ lockers/project/actionagenda/ index.html.Acknowledgement This project was funded by NSF Grant #EEC-0080484.