Turk J Elec Engin, VOL.14, NO.1 2006, c  T ¨ UB ˙ ITAK Infusing Technical Communication and Teamwork within the ECE Curriculum By April KEDROWICZ 1 , Sundy WATANABE 1 , Damon HALL 1 , Cynthia FURSE 2 1 Center for Engineering Leadership (CLEAR) 50 S. Campus Drive (2110 Merrill Engineering Building) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA e-mail: a.kedrowicz@utah.edu 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 50 S. Campus Drive (3280 Merrill Engineering Building) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA e-mail: cfurse@ece.utah.edu Abstract This paper highlights a unique approach to infusing formal training and practice in oral and written communication and teamwork development in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Utah. Faculty and graduate (Ph.D.) students from the College of Humanities have teamed up with faculty from engineering to develop communication and teamwork instruction that is integrated into the existing engineering curriculum. These skills are used as a vehicle to provide better understanding of engineering concepts and their applications. 1. Introduction Electrical and computer engineering programs are notoriously packed with technical courses, and professors feel strained to cover necessary material in the allotted time. The program may already feel full to bursting, yet today there are many additional demands from industry and accreditation boards to improve students’ abilities in oral and written communication and teamwork. Adding additional courses in technical writing or speaking is often seen as the solution to this dilemma, but these courses often lack the direct application to the students’ engineering experiences and the ability to track and improve over time. This paper describes a new program in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah to infuse writing, speaking, and teamwork experiences throughout the ECE curriculum as alternatives and reinforcements to the standard “lecture” pedagogy. As such, they are not simply “writing experiences,” but rather are used as alternative methods to teach engineering concepts. Students apply communication formats to learn electrical engineering. This “write/speak to learn” concept applied in a team-oriented environment has been shown to be effective in standard courses [1] . This paper describes 1) how this concept is applied in a full ECE curriculum, 2) the interface of communication professionals with engineering professors, and 3) methods to assess student learning and program outcomes. This effort is part of a 3 year department-level curriculum 41