mjj 210 professional and technical communication · mjj 210 – professional and technical...
Post on 25-Sep-2020
3 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
Compiled by Bradley Bock Last Revision: January 2020
© Copyright reserved
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria i
Table of Contents
SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT ............................................................................ 1
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
2. Administrative information ................................................................................................ 2
3. Study materials and purchases ........................................................................................... 2
4. What is expected from Lecturers ....................................................................................... 2
5. What is expected from Students ........................................................................................ 2
SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT ............................................................................................... 4
6. Background to Course ........................................................................................................ 4
7. Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 5
8. Course Themes and Outcomes ........................................................................................... 7
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 1
SECTION A: ORGANISATIONAL COMPONENT
1. Introduction
Background and brief description of the module
The professional engineer spends a significant portion of their time communicating ideas and
documenting outcomes as result of the multi-disciplinary and often long term nature of their work
environment. Thus an understanding of how to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
is crucial.
Common means of verbal and written communication will be covered in this module, such as
presentations, meetings and report writing.
To provide a framework for these various assignments a project will be implemented through the
duration of the course. This will also provide some valuable, although limited, project execution
experience.
Departmental study guide
This study guide is a crucial part of the general study guide of the Department. In
the study guide of the Department , information is given on the mission and vision of the
department , general administration and regulations (professionalism and integrity, course
related information and formal communication, workshop use and safety, grievances,
support services, plagiarism, class representative duties, sick test and sick exam guidelines,
vacation work, appeal process and adjustment of marks, university regulations, frequently
asked questions), ECSA Graduate Attributes, ECSA knowledge areas, CDIO, new
curriculum and assessment of cognitive levels. It is expected that you are very familiar with
the content of the Departmental Study Guide. It is available in English and Afrikaans on the
Department’s website.
Eng:
https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/2020/departmental-studyguide-eng-
2020_version21jan2020-002.zp185016.pdf
Afr:
https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/120/Noticeboard/2020/departementele-studiegids-afr-
2020_weergawe21-jan2020-002.zp185015.pdf
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 2
2. Administrative information
2.1 Contact information
Name Building and room number
Telephone number
E-mail address
Module Lecturer
Dr Heini Backeberg
Engineering III Room 6-91
012 420-2935
heini.backeberg@up.ac.za
Time Table
Contact Session Venue Day & Time
Lectures/Tutorials Eng III-7 Monday: 09h30 – 11h20
Lectures/Tutorials Centenary 1 Thursday: 14h30 – 16h20
General communication
Please note that clickUp will be used to communicate all announcements. It is the student’s
responsibility to ensure they have access to the clickUp course.
Consulting Hours
As only roughly 2 hours of the 4 hours allocated every week for MJJ 210 will used for lectures, it is
recommended to use the remaining Tutorial time for consultations.
Matters that require a more private setting may be arranged by appointment via email.
3. Study materials and purchases
Course notes and miscellaneous study material will be posted on clickUp after each lecture.
There is no recommended textbook for this course.
4. What is expected from Lecturers
Courteous and professional in all interactions with students
Well prepared for lectures
Fair in all decisions
5. What is expected from Students
Courteous and professional in all interactions with each other and lecturers/TAs
On time hand in of all deliverables
Disciplined behaviour in class
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 3
Discussion of problems in/with course with lecturer as soon as possible in a professional
manner
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 4
SECTION B: STUDY COMPONENT
6. Background to Course
Course Aim
To provide a foundation in professional communication through instruction of best practices and
theory and the subsequent practice of these skills learned.
Course structure
The course takes the approach of lectures where understanding of core concepts and background to
best practices will be covered followed by assignments so as to practice the concepts covered.
Tie-in with other modules in the programme
This course will feed into all future professional work. With respect to university studies, it will feed
particularly into all courses where reports and presentations are required, such as future project
courses (e.g. MIA 320) as well as your final year thesis and design (MRN 412/422 and MOX 410
respectively).
Learning presumed to be in place
Familiarity in word processing (e.g. Microsoft Word) and presentation software (e.g. Microsoft
PowerPoint) is expected. Tutorials will be given to assist with the more advanced knowledge, as well
as resources made available on clickUp.
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 5
7. Assessment
Lectures and Assignments
The course consists of a 2 hour class on Mondays and Thursdays respectively.
The general trend will consists of a lecture followed by an assignment, to be worked upon in class as
well as after hours. Certain projects will require more time, and as such may spread over multiple
classes.
Attendance of classes is compulsory as per University regulations.
Assessment Breakdown
The breakdown of the course mark is described in Table 1.
Table 1 Assessment contribution breakdown
Assessment Contribution
to Final Mark (%)
Technical Report 30
Oral Presentation 20
Other assignments – Group 7.5
Other assignments – Individual 17.5
Exam 25
Handing in of assignments
All assignments must be handed in before the deadline communicated. If submitted late the
following applies:
Technical Report
o If ill over the 5 calendar days before the assignment deadline, a doctor’s certificate
with a specified amount of days booked off can be used to obtain an extension. The
extension will be equal to the number of days booked off. The doctor’s note and
submission thereof must adhere to the requirements prescribed by the Mechanical
and Aeronautical Engineering Departmental Study Guide.
o If handed in late, the following applies:
If less than or equal to an hour late – mark is reduced by 15 percentage
points
If between 1 hour and 24 hours late – mark is reduced by 30 percentage
points
If more than 24 hours late – report will not be accepted
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 6
Oral Presentation
o In the same manner as for a test, a doctor’s certificate booking the participant off
will be required. A new presentation timeslot will then be allocated. The doctor’s
note and submission thereof must adhere to the requirements prescribed by the
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Departmental Study Guide.
Other assignments – Individual
o If late, assignment will not be accepted
Other assignments – Group
o If late, same late criteria as Technical report will be used
Group Work assessment
At the end of semester a group work review process will be undertaken. This will involve all
members of a group reviewing each other’s performance and rating them accordingly. These ratings
will then be used to calculate an adjustment factor. The adjustment factor will then be applied to the
student’s group work mark.
Exam Entrance and Pass Requirements
As per departmental guidelines, a student needs a semester mark of 40% to gain entrance into the
exam.
Furthermore, the Technical Report and Oral Presentation must be completed to gain entrance to the
exam and be allowed to pass the course.
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 7
8. Course Themes and Outcomes
Course Outcomes
The outcomes expected of the students at the end of the course are:
1. Understand the fundamentals of effective communication
2. Write a Technical Report
3. Structure a Logical argument
4. Implement Harvard style referencing
5. Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
6. Differentiate between good and poor information
7. Present a technical presentation
8. How to compose slides 9. Identify the influence of body language on communication
10. How to present data in graphical form
11. Identify common errors in data display
12. Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
13. Know the practices of formal business emails
14. Conduct an effective meeting
Course Themes
The course covers communication of three main themes, illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. MJJ 210 Central themes
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
Visual Communication
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 8
8.2.1. Written communication
All engineers need to communicate the results of his/her work at some stage to engineering
audiences and the community at large. This often takes the form of written communication.
In this theme the student will be exposed to various areas where written communication will play a
role. Working in teams and individually the student will gain knowledge and experience of the
following outcomes:
Understand the fundamentals of effective communication
Write a Technical Report
Structure a Logical argument
Implement Harvard style referencing
Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
Differentiate between good and poor information
Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
Know the practices of formal business emails
8.2.2. Visual communication
The use of visual media to communicate results and ideas is crucial in simplifying the transfer of
thoughts and ideas to an audience. The outcomes of this theme are:
How to compose slides
How to present data in graphical form
Identify common errors in data display
Identify the influence of body language on communication
8.2.3. Verbal communication
Effective verbal communication is the starting point and cornerstone of all engineering
communication. This can take place both the in the general day-to-day conversation and meetings
one encounters, as well as the more structured presentation format. The outcomes of this theme
are:
Conduct an effective meeting
Present a technical presentation
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 9
Course Outcomes – Credit Map
Outcome Mode of instruction Learning
hours estimated
Contact session:
Understand the fundamentals of effective communication
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 2
Write a Technical Report Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
27 8
Structure a logical argument Lectures and Tutorials Self Study
7 3
Implement Harvard style referencing Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 3
Differentiate between plagiarism, poor paraphrasing and adequate academic citation
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 2
Differentiate between good and poor information
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 2
Present a technical presentation Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
12 6
How to compose slides Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
2 1
Identify the influence of common body language signs on communication
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
1 1
Identify common errors in data display Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
3 2
Be able to write a technically sufficient requirement statement
Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
7 1
Know the practices of formal business emails Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
1 1
Conduct an effective meeting Lectures and Tutorials Assignments Self Study
8 6
Total 80 38
MJJ 210 – Professional and Technical Communication
2020 – Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, EBIT, University of Pretoria 10
In terms of Blooms taxonomy, (discussed here: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html)
students are expected to achieve the outcomes to the following level of proficiency:
0
1
2
3
4
5
Un
der
stan
d t
he
fu
nd
ame
nta
ls o
f ef
fect
ive
com
mu
nic
atio
n
Wri
te a
tec
hn
ical
rep
ort
Stru
ctu
re a
logi
cal a
rgu
men
t
Imp
lem
ent
Har
vard
sty
le r
efer
en
cin
g
Dif
fere
nti
ate
be
twee
n p
lagi
aris
m, p
oo
r p
arap
hra
sin
gan
d a
deq
uat
e a
cad
emic
cit
atio
n
Dif
fere
nti
ate
be
twee
n g
oo
d a
nd
po
or
info
rmat
ion
Pre
sen
t a
tech
nic
al p
rese
nta
tio
n
Ho
w t
o c
om
po
se s
lide
s
Ide
nti
fy t
he
infl
ue
nce
of
com
mo
n b
od
y la
ngu
age
sign
so
n c
om
mu
nic
atio
n
Ide
nti
fy c
om
mo
n e
rro
rs in
dat
a d
isp
lay
Be
able
to
wri
te a
tec
hn
ical
ly s
uff
icie
nt
req
uir
em
en
tst
atem
ent
Kn
ow
th
e p
ract
ices
of
form
al b
usi
nes
s em
ails
Co
nd
uct
an
eff
ecti
ve m
eet
ing
Know
Understand
Apply
Analyse
Evaluate and
Create
top related