Evaluating a Role-Playing Approach to Improve Transferable Professional Communication Skills of Chemical Engineering Students

该项目旨在通过在化学工程课程标准的实验室课程中实施基于证据的技术交流教学实践来服务于国家利益。这将通过将基于行业的角色扮演场景纳入课程来实现。课程中还将使用专门接受技术写作培训的学生导师。将评估这些干预措施对学生沟通技能的影响。将与行业中执业工程师的期望进行比较。通过使用与工作场所相关的角色扮演场景，预计学生将更多地参与课程，认识到沟通对他们未来职业的价值，并提高他们的沟通技巧。本科生学习的技能将转移到他们未来的职业生涯中，作为工业工程师或研究生院的研究人员。通过该机构的写作中心与沟通专家合作，将提供更有效的沟通技巧教学和评估。该项目将通过改善STEM教育和为化学工程本科生提供技术沟通技能，使其在STEM劳动力中具有竞争力，从而造福社会。沟通等专业技能在工程实践中非常重要，但有效地融入化学工程课程是一个挑战。通过该项目，将通过在课程中实施技术通信教学中的循证实践来改进单元操作实验室课程。三个研究问题将被探讨：（i）如何期望“良好”的技术沟通教师和执业化学工程师之间的差异？(ii)如何通过使用与工业相关的角色扮演场景和嵌入式训练有素的导师来提高学生的技术沟通技能？学生写作自我效能感与技术沟通技能之间的相关性如何？作为研究的一部分，将开发和验证评估技术沟通技能的规则，行业合作伙伴将评估学生的技术写作和规则，以反映行业的需求。将实施与工业，研究和学术生涯相关的角色扮演场景，写作中心导师将为学生提供技术写作支持。为了明确写作自我效能感与技术沟通技能之间的关系，在干预前后对学生进行问卷调查，并进行相关性分析。该项目的结果有可能被应用在实验室课程在许多学科和本科课程的水平。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by implementing evidence-based practices in technical communication instruction in laboratory courses that are standard in chemical engineering curriculum. This will be done by incorporating industry-based role-playing scenarios into the courses. Student tutors trained specifically for technical writing will also be used in the courses. The impact these interventions have on the students’ communication skills will be evaluated. Comparisons to the expectations of practicing engineers in industry will be made. By using role-playing scenarios relevant to the workplace, it is anticipated that the students will be more engaged in the course, recognize the value of communication to their future careers, and improve their communication skills. The skills the undergraduates learn will be transferable to their future careers as engineers in industry or researchers in graduate school. Collaboration with communication experts through the institution’s Writing Center will provide more effective teaching and evaluation of communication skills. This project will benefit society by improving STEM education and providing chemical engineering undergraduates technical communication skills to be competitive in the STEM workforce.Professional skills such as communication are highly valued in engineering practice and yet are a challenge to incorporate effectively into the chemical engineering curriculum. With this project, unit operation laboratory courses will be improved by implementing evidence-based practices in technical communication instruction in the curriculum. Three research questions will be explored: (i) how do expectations of “good” technical communication differ between instructors and practicing chemical engineers?; (ii) how do technical communications skills of students improve with use of industrially relevant role-playing scenarios and embedded trained tutors?; and (iii) what is the correlation between student writing self-efficacy and technical communication skills? As part of the research, rubrics will be developed and validated to assess technical communication skills, and industry partners will assess student technical writing and rubrics to reflect the needs of industry. Role-playing scenarios relevant to industrial, research, and academic careers will be implemented, and Writing Center tutors will provide technical writing support to students. In order to make clear the relationship between writing self-efficacy and technical communication skills before and after the intervention, surveys will be given to the students and analyzed for correlations. The results of this project have the potential to be applied in laboratory courses across many disciplines and levels of undergraduate curriculum. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.