Engineering Students' Writing Perceptions Impact Their Conceptual Learning

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Ten
  In Roundtable Session: Postsecondary Students in Computing and Engineering Education (Table 7)

Abstract

Technical writing is a critical professional skill, yet engineering faculty seldom receive guidance on how to teach technical writing. Considering writing not only as an opportunity to practice vital writing skills but also to develop conceptual knowledge, we conduct a design-based research study examining student beliefs about writing and their impact on student conceptual understanding. We found students who elaborated on changes as errors and corrections they made in their draft laboratory reports scored significantly lower on conceptual understanding in their final submission, while students who described writing as an ongoing process scored significantly higher on conceptual understanding in their final report.

Authors

• Madalyn Wilson-Fetrow, University of New Mexico
  Presenting Author

• Vanessa Svihla, University of New Mexico
  Non-Presenting Author

• Eva Chi
  Non-Presenting Author

• Catherine Hubka, University of New Mexico
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yan Chen, University of Nevada - Las Vegas
  Non-Presenting Author