ELEC ENG 7057 - Engineering Communication & Critical Thinking

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2017

Engineering Communication and Critical Thinking provides strategies and practice in developing skills to enable students with English as a second language to maximize their capacity to learn and to interact effectively in an English speaking academic and professional environment. This course explores communication in a cross cultural setting, and provides strategies for effective academic and professional writing and seminar presentations. Seminars provide information about and practice in locating, analysing and evaluating appropriate sources of information, and consider differences in style and format of documents written for different purposes. The course provides the opportunity to develop skills for professional speaking in a variety of settings.

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Course Details

Course Code	ELEC ENG 7057
Course	Engineering Communication & Critical Thinking
Coordinating Unit	School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assessment	Assignments

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Emeritus Professor Michael Liebelt

Lecturer: Mr Alf Grasso
Email: alfio.grasso@adelaide.edu.au
Office: Ingkarni Wardl level 3 room 3.58

Lecturer: Ms Catherine Irving
Email: catherine.irving@adelaide.edu.au
Office: Ingkarni Wardl level 3 room 3.45

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1	Explain the role of high level communication skills in professional engineering and research practice.
2	Explain the effects of cultural background on communication idioms.
3	Communicate effectively in English in multi-cultural professional contexts.
4	Present, effectively, complex engineering information in a seminar format to both technical and non-technical audiences.
5	Create engineering documents that effectively communicate complex technical information, as part of a professional engineering process
6	Analyse and critically evaluate information obtained from diverse sources.
7	Plan engineering solutions that take into account ethical, environmental and societal impact.
8	Initiate and make original and informed contributions to group discussions.
9	Contribute productively to the work of teams undertaking a professional engineering process.
10	Contribute to and, when necessary, lead engineering team meetings.

The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer.
The course is designed to develop the following Elements of Competency: 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	4, 5, 6, 7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	6, 7, 8
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2, 8, 9, 10

Learning Resources

Required Resources

References
Students are expected to own and use a dictionary and a grammar book suitable for their level. If you do not already have these, some options follow. Check for more recent editions.

Dictionaries
Macquarie Dictionary, 2005, Yallop, C (ed), 4thedn, Macquarie Library, North Ryde, N.S.W

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2005, 7thedn, OUP, Oxford.

Grammar Books
Alexander, LG 1990, Longman English Grammar Practice, Longman, Harlow.
Hewings, M 2005, Advanced Grammar in Use, 2ndedn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Murphy, R. 2007, Essential Grammar in Use, 3rdedn, Cambridge University Press Melbourne.
Murphy, R 2004, English Grammar in Use, 3rdedn, Cambridge University Press, Sydney.
Peters, P 1995, The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Swan, M 1995, Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Recommended Resources

Beer, D &McMurrey, D 2005, A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, 2ndedn,John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken.
Cargill, M O'Connor, P 2009, Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester,
Chaffee, J, McMahan & Stout, B 2008, Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing: A Rhetoric with Readings, 4th edn, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Copi, IM & Cohen C, 1998, Introduction to Logic, 10th edn, Prentice-Hall International, London.
Eunson, B 2005 or 2006, Communicating in the 21st Century, John Wiley and Sons, Milton.
Girle, RA, 2008, Introduction to Logic, 2nd edn, Pearson Education, Rosedale.
Hart, H 2005, Introduction to Engineering Communication, Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River.
Huckin, T & Olsen, LA 1991, Technical Writing and Professional Communication for Nonnative Speakers of English, (2nd ed.), McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York.
Ingre, D 2008, Engineering Communication: a practical guide to workplace communications for engineers, Thompson, Toronto.
Mohan, T McGregor, H Saunders, S &Archee, R., 2008, Communicating as Professionals,Thomson, Southbank.
Munson, R and Black, A 2007, The Elements of reasoning, 5thedn, Thomson, Belmont.
Penrose, AM & Katz SB 2004, Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of Scientific Discourse (2nd ed.) Pearson Education, New York
Rudinow, J & Barry V E,1994, Invitation to critical thinking, 3rd ed.Holt, Rinehart & Winston,Fort Worth,
Swales, J &Feak, C 1994, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Weissberg, R &Buker, S 1990 Writing up Research, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs.

Online Learning

An extensive range of resources are available through MyUni. Students are expected to check their email and MyUni dailyfor information, announcements, resources and learning tasks.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures and workshops are the primary means of delivery in this task-based course.To learn successfully in this course students need to interact with each other in English in workshops and listen to and absorb material in lectures. Thus, students are required to attend and actively participate in both workshops and lectures. Through discussion, negotiation and other formative tasks during workshops, students will have the opportunity to develop and hone their English language and critical thinking skills. Written and oral assessment tasks and assignments will provide opportunities for students to expand and refine their communication skills in English.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Contact time per week:
Lecture: 1 hour
Workshop: 2 hours
Students are expected to spend a minimum of four hours per week actively following up material and tasks presented in lectures,workshops and online through MyUni and or email.

Learning Activities Summary

Content:
This course consists of a series of lectures and workshops.The teaching topics will be drawn from the following:

o Professional competencies of engineers and the role of communication
o Overview of engineering communication and critical thinking

o Complex systems in everyday language

o Managing engineering information

o Review of information sources

o The language of business

o Social responsibility and regulations

o Risk and safety management

o Ethical thinking in professional practice

o Requirements and synthetic languages

o Formal engineering reviews

o Requested topics on professional practice

Communication and critical thinking competencies will be developed from these contextually-based teaching topics.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Weighting (%)	Individual/ Group	Formative/ Summative	Due (week)*	Hurdle criteria	Learning outcomes
Feasibility Study	25	Individual	Formative	Weeks 3 and 7		1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 9.
Business Case (seminar)	20	Individual	Summative	Weeks 4 to 6		1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 9.
System Requirements Document	20	Group	Summative	Week 8		1. 3. 5. 6. 7. 9.
Workplace Helath and Safety Management Plan	15	Group	Summative	Week 10		1. 3. 5. 6. 7. 9.
Engineering Review	10	Group	Summative	Week 12		1. 3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Professional conduct and teamwork	10	Individual	Summative	Week 12		1. 2. 3. 8. 9. 10.
Total	100

* The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.

This assessment breakdown is registered as an exemption to the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy. The exemption is related to the Procedures clause(s): 1. a. i

Assessment Related Requirements

The assessment regime is intended to be broadly representative of the professional work environment. For this reason, and because students will work in teams, students are expected to attend all classes and tutorial/workshops.

Assessment Detail

Details of assessment tasks will be provided during the course. There will be a mix of group and individual assessment.

Submission

Written assignments are submitted electronically. Selected assignments may be submitted electronically to Turnitin or other plagiarism software.All assignments must have a signed student declaration. Late submissions are not accepted.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

Student feedback in 2016 indicated that some students did not see the relevance of this course to the Masters program. In 2017 we will address this issue by explaining in more detail the role of this course in developing professional competencies for engineers, so as to achieve the Engineers Australia Stage 1 competency standard upon graduation from the Master of Engineering program, with an accredited qualification.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator