We’re heading into a bit of a detour. My plan was to start covering the specifics of what we’re calling “writing for engineering” this week, but I actually want to hear from you all first about your wants/needs/desires from this course.
I preach a lot about student agency and I now I feel like I haven’t meaningfully checked in on you. I guess better late than never, and I’m sorry I didn’t do this sooner.
Academia is a funny place. We’re socialized to believe that we need academia more than it needs us. And what arises from this untruth, is that students are often forced to endure whatever structures are put in place to protect the institution (not the student).
So here’s the exercise: you are the consumer of your education — you’re most likely paying to be here, and even if a lot of it is covered, you’re spending your time within this system in order to receive a product (transferable skills and a degree?).
- What would you like to takeaway from this course (transferable skill) by the end of this semester?
- What learning systems have worked for you in the past and what has been the outcome of those experiences?
- What learning systems do not work for you and you do not want to see replicated here (or anywhere)?
I was going to do this as a survey but I think it might be powerful to have all of our ideas together in one place. I bet there will be common themes. Hopefully based on your responses, I can better tailor the rest of the course to your needs. Professor Chris Emdin does cogenerative dialogues in K-12 science classrooms to shift the balance of power away from being solely in the hands of the teacher, so this is a bit of a riff on that.
We’ll dive into “writing for engineering” next week and start practicing different conventions within your respective fields.
Thanks everyone!!
1. I want my writing skills to be improved necessary for engineer skills.
2. Usually, I’ve been given enough time and references to get my work done which is why I maintained good grades during high school.
3. I do not want sudden assignments without any examples. I would prefer assignments to be given at the scheduled time in the syllabus.
1.To improve my writing skills
2.I personally like getting examples of everything, I like getting an answer to one of the questions first and a guide on how to do it
3. i don’t like being rushed into learning or being given the “we’re behind” speech, rushing into anything really ruins the learning experience
1. What would you like to takeaway from this course (transferable skill) by the end of this semester?
2. What learning systems have worked for you in the past and what has been the outcome of those experiences?
3. What learning systems do not work for you and you do not want to see replicated here (or anywhere)?
1. To be honest Why do we need to take writing for engineering? What kind of skills will give us? How does it benefit in our major?
2. The learning system have work for me is where the Professor giving us a example and we write our own project also a guide line of a hw or project.
3. The learning system don’t work for me is that where Professor don’t post the assignment write all way also no example which professor don’t give us.
What would you like to takeaway from this course (transferable skill) by the end of this semester?
I would like to understand how “writing for engineers” differs to the writing that we have been taught all through our academic careers so far.
What learning systems have worked for you in the past and what has been the outcome of those experiences?
Being showed examples and going over them usually helps me understand a topic and when I understand a topic I usually remember it for a long time.
What learning systems do not work for you and you do not want to see replicated here (or anywhere)?
I do not gain anything from a system that does not have structure. If we are on one topic then go to another topic and back to the first in a matter of days, I find that confusion starts to occur.
1. I would like to improve my writing skills for my future engineering courses.
2. Having a guideline that shows the steps needed to be taken for assignments has worked very well for me in my first semester of college.
3. I don’t like having to memorize concepts.
By the end of this semester, I would like to achieve the skill of identifying and composing different engineering texts. I would also like to be knowledgeable about the language of engineers and how to critically think about the components of engineering. The learning system that works for me is when the professor actually engages and explains the topic by giving examples. A system that doesn’t work for me is when the professor gives an assignment and doesn’t even attempt to explain the aim of the assignment.
What would you like to takeaway from this course (transferable skill) by the end of this semester?
Learning how to conduct research and incorporate sources into your writing,building skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and analysis in the engineering context
What learning systems have worked for you in the past and what has been the outcome of those experiences?
Group work and collaboration with peers, problem-based learning that requires you to apply knowledge to real-world
What learning systems do not work for you and you do not want to see replicated here (or anywhere)?
Lack of flexibility in assignments and deadlines,inconsistent feedback or unclear expectations from instructors
1. What would you like to takeaway from this course (transferable skill) by the end of this semester?
I would like to learn how engineers write and think. I never knew engineers had their own way of composing writing; I’ve always thought writing was universal. Another thing I would like to learn from this class is how to better analyze and evaluate a given text. And finally, I want to learn how to better compose and form my writing in the sense of engineering.
2. What learning systems have worked for you in the past and what has been the outcome of those experiences?
For me, I’m a keen learner based on examples. When a given task is provided and accompanied by an example, I understand what is being asked of me more clearly.
3. What learning systems do not work for you and you do not want to see replicated here (or anywhere)?
A learning system that doesn’t work for me would have to be when you’re tasked with a writing assignment and it’s graded without any feedback on what you can do to improve on it next time. This system leaves you with no reason as to why you received this grade and gives no help for improvement.