Writing in engineering : teaching higher-order writing techniques to engineering students in an extended degree programme

Abstract

This study investigates the ways in which a writing curriculum with an emphasis on higher-order skills improves student writing. This curriculum was developed for a module titled ‘Professional Orientation’, which is offered to students in the extended engineering degree programme at the University of Pretoria. One of the aims of Professional Orientation is to promote writing development as specified in the Engineering Council of South Africa’s (ESCA’s) Graduate Attribute 6. After a quality review in 2017, which indicated that the writing aspect of the module was too general and simplistic, and the lecturer/researcher’s appointment in the module, it was decided that a PhD study would be conducted to establish the success or failure of a revised writing curriculum with an explicit emphasis on higher-order writing. This exploratory study investigates whether or not a curriculum with an emphasis on higher-order writing skills leads to improvements in student writing, to what extent these improvements are notable, and how these are relevant to students as they progress in the academic and professional environment. This study adopts an action research framework, following Glanz’s 1998 proposed research cycle. A literature review was done to investigate the cognitive, social, and education theories used as a lens to develop the revised curriculum. Thereafter, different international and local studies on academic literacy were reviewed to gather relevant information on the field. Finally, a framework for the lower- and higher-order skills developed and enforced in this study was investigated and finalised. This led to a revised curriculum in 2020 and a further revision of the curriculum for analysis in this study in 2021. The researcher conducted a quantitative analysis of student results, a qualitative analysis of select student writing samples, as well as an analysis of regular student writing reflections. The results indicate that certain aspects of student writing improved, particularly in mid- or high-performing student work, but that low-performing students were not necessarily able to keep up with the writing demands and make significant improvements in their writing. However, students, whether low-, mid-, or high-performing, typically perceived an improvement or need for improvement in their own writing, suggesting that the interventions were successful at creating an awareness around the importance of writing in an academic setting.