CHE 330—Teaming, Writing, and Speaking Module—Spring 2002

Instructor:Dave Kmiec ()

Subject:Course Syllabus

The Teaming, Writing, and Speaking (TWS) module is designed to help future chemical engineers improve their collaborative oral and written technical communication skills by addressing how members of teams prepare oral and written reports and identify and resolve issues related to writing, speaking, and interpersonal interaction.

Instruction

The TWS module will be taught using in-class activities as well as small group and large group discussions. Outside of lecture, each team will be required to meet with a writing tutor for assistance with collaborative writing and to complete team assignments. Modules will take place during the time allotted for lab experiments on the following non-lab weeks and will cover the following material:

Session / Topic
1 / Teaming: making the real team more ideal
2 / Writing: collaborative writing and editing
3 / Teaming: recognizing and reconciling the interpersonal aspects of teaming
4 / Speaking: preparing and delivering collaborative presentations
5 / Speaking: practicing presentation

Grading

The TWS module comprises 20% of each student's overall CHE 330 grade. Final grades will be based on how well students fulfill the following four parts listed below. All assignments must be completed with a proficiency of at least 60% in order to receive credit for the course.

Assignments

Attendance and Participation25%

Aside from attending all five sessions and participating in class activities and discussion, each team must also meet with a writing and speaking consultant for one-hour for each of the written lab reports.

Team Project LogDue at TWS 3 & 525%

In industrial settings, teams typically document the suggestions and decisions made at meetings and the time invested by each team member. This is done to assure that team members are accountable for actions assigned at meetings and so that credit can be given to team members who meet all of their obligations.

Each team should keep a log book with two parts:

  • In the first part of the log, the minutes of each team meeting should appear. Minutes should be constructed in a consistent and logical fashion and should include the following items:

­Record-keeping information: the time, date, location, and duration of the meeting, as well as a list of the attendants

­Content information: a summary of progress made, issues discussed, and decisions made, as well as recognition of member contribution

­Refection: a cooperatively-drafted reflection which includes the following information:

  • a description of the process that your team has used to plan, investigate, write, and edit the report
  • an analysis of the effectiveness of that process
  • several suggestions for improving that process in the future

­Organizational information: a list of action items with expected completion dates and a record of the time, date, and location of the next planned meeting

  • In the second part of the log, each team member should keep an account of the time he or she invests in each lab report and the types of team and individual activities in which he or she engages.

Minutes and time should be logged into the logbook at each meeting—not all at once at the end of each reporting period.

Report of Writing Standards Due at TWS 325%

Private companies, academic journals, and government offices all have their own methods of consistently organizing and formatting proposals and internal reports. As a team, choose one type of document—proposal, report, incident report, etc.—and prepare an analysis in which you compare the standards that four industrial, commercial, or academic sites specify for that type of document.

In your analysis, it may be helpful to consider how the following potential differences impact the development of standards:

  • the audience for whom the documents are being drafted
  • the purpose of the documents
  • the technical or professional background of the people expected to write the documents

After completing your report, develop a one to two page memo which analyzes the lab writing standards for ChE 330 in a similar fashion.

Collaborative Writing & Editing Process Chart25%

The consistency of quality in any process is vital and requires the development and implementation of quality control and standardization measures. Each team should develop a system of management charts that details their collaborative writing and editing process. These charts should be designed so that any team preparing a report could use them to develop a quality document.

This chart should be synthesized after the completion of the first lab report and should undergo substantial revision and refinement after each subsequent report. Each team should submit all iterations of their chart electronically within one week of submitting each lab report. Teams should always bring a physical copy of their current chart to class and to team writing and speaking sessions.