Developing communication skills in engineering classes

Temple University has developed a program which introduces engineering students to the importance of oral and written communication exercises which are spread across the four years of the engineering curricula. In the first year, students are made aware of the importance of becoming good writers and speakers and how this can impact on their careers. Exercises in proofreading are conducted by a consultant in introductory level classes. In the second year, typical exercises include classroom note taking and short verbal presentations based on the notes. Laboratory journals and more formal laboratory reports are also introduced. Additional laboratory report writing and a formal research paper are emphasized in the third year. An exercise in teamwork is presented in a third year course to help students in the many collaborative projects they encounter in upper level engineering projects. All fourth year students take a full year capstone senior design course which includes many written submissions and oral presentations