Inversion of technical and communication emphasis in an engineering product design class

In order to situate first year technical writing students in engineering practice, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Experimental Study Group (ESG) has piloted a section of a first year writing curriculum subject, 21W.732, Scientific Writing and New Media, in which the communication deliverables are based on mechanical engineering product design. The ESG section of the 21W.732 writing subject inverts the communication and technical emphases found in upper-level engineering design subjects: in the ESG 21W.732, the emphasis is on communication rather than product design. The ESG 21W.732 curriculum asks students to work together both individually and in teams to conceive, design, prototype, and evaluate products; the communication assignments are coupled directly to this design cycle or to the humanistic aspects of engineering. Results suggest that students are engaged in this novel subject and value the experience. This interdisciplinary, hands-on, project-based, team-based communication class offers students a number of benefits above and beyond situated communication instruction, including the opportunity for first year students to explore engineering as a major, to learn (some) technical content driven by the projects, and to engage in genuine team project work.