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Re: If you were asked to design a course for undergrad engineering students...
Subject:Re: If you were asked to design a course for undergrad engineering students... From:Joe Malin <jmalin -at- jmalin -dot- com> To:Tissa Salter <tissa55 -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:16:41 -0700
I always go in favor of a generalist approach, but still I think you
should ask the professors there. Be sure you're aware of the goals of
that particular branch of the university. Is their goal different from
A&M in College Station? If so, how do you have to adjust your
curriculum? Will your students be writing in English in their jobs? Does
technical communication have any culture-specific features in Qatar?
I don't know if Qatari students learn English in high school. If they
do, what is the level? You may want to focus on English fundamentals,
which would benefit your students even outside the world of technical
communication. They may also be expecting that!
Even in the US, I believe that someone who is trained in the
fundamentals of good English writing can easily pick up the special
tools and techniques of technical communication.
Joe
Tissa Salter wrote:
> Hello all:
>
> We are in the process of reviewing our technical communication program
> and I thought I would ask this group for your opinions. I apologize
> in advance for the redundancy if I have already contacted you via
> other lists or directly.
>
> Background: Texas A&M University has opened a new campus in Qatar and
> we are only offering degrees in Electrical, Mechanical, Petroleum, and
> Chemical Engineering. In addition to the engineering courses, the
> predominantly Qatari and other Middle Eastern students must, by Texas
> State law, take all the normal core classes required on the home
> campus. I teach Technical Communication, a generalist
> sophomore/junior level required English class.
>
> Issue: It has been mentioned by some engineering faculty that this
> class should be tailored to separate the students and teach
> industry-specific documentation to each of the four engineering
> specialties.
>
> Without biasing your opinion, I would like to know how you would teach
> technical communication to this student body if you could design the
> course. Would you design a course to serve as a broad overview that
> yields the core competencies the students will need in most any field,
> or would you support an industry-specific approach? Why?
>
> Your thoughts and opinions would be EXTREMELY valuable to us as we
> study this issue.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Tissa Salter
> English Faculty
> Texas A&M University at Qatar
>
> 979-216-1223 US line ringing in Doha (+ 9 hours)
> US Forwarding Address:
> c/o TAMUQ Support Office
> PO Box B-6
> College Station, TX 77844
>
>
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