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21W.732 | Fall 2010 | Undergraduate

# Science Writing and New Media

The following were assigned to students both as in-class activities and more extensive design projects.

Assignment tick list (PDF)

Exercises and In- Class Activities

Essays

Project I

Project II

Project III

WEEK # | INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN & ORAL DELIVERABLES | TEAM WRITTEN & ORAL DELIVERABLES
--- | --- | ---

0 | Obtain and cherish a notebook Brainstorming in notebook | N/A

1 | Further brainstorming 3x3 design spaces with rough Functional Requirements, Design Paramters, Analysis, References, Risks, Countermeasures (FRDPARRC) Selection criteria White Paper Informal oral presentations Informal experiment proposal Design proposal | N/A

2 | Further brainstorming 3x3 design spaces with rough FRDPARRCs Selection criteria White paper Informal oral presentations Informal experiment proposal Design proposal | Team formation Team meeting Team contract

3 | Oral and written reports Reflection E-mail memo Elevator pitch | Poster

4 | N/A | Extensive FRDARRC Written & oral proposal

5 | Movie essay drafts Present movie to instructor | Prediction presentation

6 | N/A | Document, demo, & test prototype

7 | E-mail memo Reflection Movie draft, round two Product reviews (3) | Project II oral and written report

8 | Movie draft Individual brainstorming & FRDPARRC | Idea selection FRDPARRC Project III poster

9 | Final (perhaps) movie draft | Final (perhaps), movie draft

10 | Testing proposal | N/A

11 | N/A | Progress report (oral) Graphics for final presentation

12 | Testing report Myth | Dry runs of final presentation Project III final reports, written & oral

13 | 3x parachute stories | N/A

Complete schedule of deliverables (PDF)

MIT student writing and speaking self-assessment (PDF)

Skills required for engineers (PDF)
(Use Table 1 on page 3 and circle the communication activities you have engaged in)

Project II team member evaluation (PDF)

Project III team member evaluation (PDF)

End of term report outline (PDF)

MIT student writing and speaking end-of-term assessment (PDF)

### Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 21W.732 Science Writing and New Media as it was taught by David Custer and Elizabeth A. Page in Fall 2010. This course is now offered under the course number 21W.033.

Taught as part of MIT’s Experimental Study Group (ESG), this course frames writing, graphics, meetings, oral presentation, collaboration, and design as tools for product development. Students work in teams to conceive, design, as well as prototype their projects while exercising and improving their communication skills. In teaching this course, David focuses on presenting dualities of learning: the humanistic and the technical, and also the communicative and collaborative.

### Course Outcomes

By the time they complete the course, students should be able to solve open-ended, interdisciplinary problems, and convey their work in both writing and oral presentation tasks. Students should be competent and confident when making lexical, textual, and rhetorical choices as they shape their communication.

### Curriculum Information

#### Prerequisites

None

#### Requirements Satisfied

- HASS
- CI-H
- CI-HW

#### Offered

Every fall semester

### Instructor Interview

> "By providing students with an environment in which they can answer each other’s questions and refine those discoveries over time, they will learn how to apply themselves consciously as problem-solvers."

—David Custer

Below, David Custer describes various aspects of teaching 21W.732 Science Writing and New Media.

#### Creation of a Rich Learning Environment

Over the last seven years or so, I have shifted much emphasis to making teamwork and collaboration succeed. This is partially because students in this course need the opportunity to practice such collaboration and also because if the collaboration works, then the communication follows. By providing students with an environment in which they can answer each other’s questions and refine those discoveries over time, they will learn how to apply themselves consciously as problem-solvers. Ultimately, I want my students to become intellectuals – rational inhabitants of the world of ideas.

My experience with having taught both linear and nonlinear versions of this course leads me to believe that the nonlinear subject, situated in a genuine context, provides a much richer learning environment. And that any loss of communication “rigor” is more than offset by the gains made in the attitude and beliefs that students have regarding communication tasks. I don’t have data (yet) to rigorously support this contention, but anecdotally, I have not met a communication instructor who has experimented with both linear and nonlinear versions and prefers the linear. On the student side, many freshmen are challenged by the nonlinear, open-ended, fractal academic tasks. First-year students often expect weekly assignments with problems that can be done in order and independently.

#### Takeaways from the Product Design Projects

The product design projects are central to the communication instruction because the design projects motivate communication. As a piece of advice, this duality cannot be achieved simply by merging an existing writing course with an existing design course. Instead, the course should be structured and designed from scratch in collaboration with instructors from both spheres. The balance between the design project and the communication component is tricky because in light of the communication focus, many elements of product design can only be addressed superficially. Even so, the design projects make visible the transition from idea to product through sketches and prototyping so that it is possible to visibly demonstrate what it means to develop an idea. At the end of the course, the resulting prototypes are tactile, visible embodiments of the students’ ideas. Consequently, the expertise that students derive from the design projects gives them a unique authority from which to write and communicate.

#### Preparation for Teaching the Course

I see one of my significant roles as being “game-master.” As such, the challenge is to create a “world” or perhaps an “educational micro-environment” for my students and populate it with a schedule of challenges for them to undertake. Preparing for the semester is largely a question of making sure the resources are in place and the schedule is realistic. Laying out all the assignments so that the projects lead to communication in the context of instruction is one example of a scheduling challenge. In developing the course, significant time has been devoted to fine-tuning the schedule and the assignments.

### Student Information

#### Enrollment

12 students

#### Breakdown by Year

Since many freshmen are required to take a CI-HW during their first semester at MIT, the class generally comprises all freshmen.

#### Breakdown by Major

Because the subject is taken a semester before majors are declared, students taking 21W.732 do not have an official major. About 75% of students who have completed 21W.732 choose to major in an engineering discipline, and about 5% choose to major in a humanities discipline, with a good majority of that in CMS or 21W.

#### Typical Student Background

- Students are asked to outline their design experience on the first day of class. They often display a wide range of experience and attitudes. There are the students who have been involved in explicit design projects (e.g., FIRST Lego® robotics competitions) and are confident in their ability to engage in the design process, while others have not participated in projects that are “labeled” as design, and are unsure of their aptitude for design work. All students, regardless of design experience, are capable of succeeding in this course.
- Many students take this subject because they are more interested in product design than the other flavors of CI-HW courses offered at MIT. Although this course is technically not a mechanical engineering course, it permits students to explore what it means to be a mechanical engineer during their first semester at MIT.
- Most students come equipped with a sound mathematical background. It is a rare student who does not have the math skills required to argue intelligently about the exponential decay of the temperature in a cup of coffee. (These students are given a very quick introduction to derivatives and e to the -kt.) Students do, however, show a wide range of backgrounds and abilities in their use of the English language. Still, if you put any six students together, they have sufficient control of 95% of the skills and knowledge needed to communicate effectively.

#### Enrollment Cap

ESG generally has a limit of 12 students, and CI-HW caps at 18. Having more than 18 students in a writing/communication subject would make it difficult to provide reasonable feedback in a timely manner.

#### Ideal Class Size

The short, informal presentations early in the semester are an important component in the course. With 12 students, it is possible to have all of the students give oral presentations during a week of class time. Enrolling more students would necessitate either more class time or fewer presentations.

### How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

#### Lecture

Class time consists of interactive “lectures,” discussion, exercises, oral presentations, teamwork and collaboration, design project work, writing workshops, and providing feedback and reflection. The overarching goal during class time is to foster a community in which its members feel comfortable with interacting with each other, introducing and reinforcing communication “curriculum,” and providing a legitimate context for communication.

#### Out of Class

Students engage in team meetings, conferences, and project development outside of class. They also spend time on completing a number of assignments that include writing exercises, required readings, and maintaining a design notebook.

This section contains examples of work done by students from this class. (Courtesy of MIT students. Used with permission.)

### Project I

Coffee Keeper (PDF)

### Project II

Final Report on Focus: A Solar Hot Water Heating device (PDF - 1.0MB)

### Final Project

Jerkling-Final Presentation: A Better Speed Bump that Saves Energy (PDF - 1.1MB)

Final Report on Jerkling: An Energy-Saving Speed Bump (PDF)

WEEK # | READINGS
--- | ---

0 | Syllabus Deliverables and schedule Project I assignment

1 | Graham, M., A. Slocum, and R. Moreno Sanchez. “Teaching High School Students and College Freshmen Product Development by Deterministic Design with PREP.” Journal of Mechanical Design 129 (July 2007): 677. Oakley, Barbara, et al. “Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams.” Journal of Student Centered Learning 2, no. 1 (2004): 9. (PDF) Philips, Patricia L. “So You’re Going to be a Member of a Team.” Chemical Engineering Progress, January 1997. (PDF) “Theory of Multiple Intelligences.” Wikipedia. Learning styles test and interpretation

2 | “Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development.” Wikipedia. “Pirate’s Creed of Ethics.” “Questions to Consider to Create a Team Contract.” (PDF)

3 | Library info searching: Introduction to Compendex and Inspec video

4 | Gopen, George, and Judith Swan. “The Science of Scientific Writing.” American Scientist. Kishlansky, Mark A. “How to Read a Document.” Sources of World History Volume 1. Wadsworth Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 9780495091516. Meetings reading from the MIT-Gordon Leadership Program. (PDF) (Courtesy of the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program. Used with permission.)

5 | ASME. “Ethical Standards for Authors in the Publication of ASME Journals.” ASME. “ASME Code of Ethics for Engineers.” (PDF) Yates, JoAnne. “Active Listening and Reflective Responses.” MIT Sloan Communication Program Teaching Note. (PDF) (Courtesy of JoAnne Yates. Used with permission.)

6 | No readings

7 | Pogue, David. “A Camera That Has It All? Well, Almost.” New York Times, December 8, 2005. Williams, Jim. “Should Ohm’s Law Be Repealed?” Analog Circuit Design. Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991. ISBN: 978075069640.

8 | Florman, Samuel C. The Existential Pleasures of Engineering. St Martin’s Griffin, 1996. ISBN: 9780312141042. Petroski, Henry. Invention by Design: How Engineers Get From Thoughts to Thing. Harvard University Press, 1996. ISBN: 978067446384.

9 | Jan, Tracy. “At MIT, Chic Nudges Geek: Some Want Their School to Shed Notorious Nerd Image.” The Boston Globe, October 15, 2008. Nugent, Benjamin. “The Way We Live Now: 7-29-07: Idea Lab; Who’s a Nerd, Anyway?” The New York Times, July 29, 2007.

10 | Thurber, James. Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated. Harper Perennial, 1983. ISBN: 978006090994.

11 | Bolles, Richard N. What Color is Your Parachute? 2011: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers. Ten Speed Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781580089890.

12 | No readings

13 | Pound, Ezra. “In a Station of the Metro.”

### Additional Readings

American Institute of Physics. AIP Style Manual. (PDF - 4.1MB) 1990.

Levi, Primo. “Argon.” In The Periodic Table. Everyman’s Library, 1996. ISBN: 9780679444633.

Houghstow, Amber. “Measuring the Heat Absorption and Retention Properties of a Solar Autoclave.” May 14, 2010. 2.671 Measurement and Instrumentation, MIT. (PDF) (Courtesy of an MIT student. Used with permission.)

Poster example: “The Ravine” by Vincent Van Gogh.

Examples from 2.009 Product Engineering at MIT. (Click on product image, and then Ideas).

Clip from The Princess Bride

### Sample Reports

Silverstein, Calvin C. “Self-Cooling Cavity Burs for Surgical Drills .” Journal of Medical Devices 4 (2007): 293.

Harris, Chad, Mircea Despa, and Kevin Kelly. “Design and Fabrication of a Cross Flow Micro Heat Exchanger.” Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 4, no. 9 (2000): 502.

Thomson, William. “On the Secular Cooling of the Earth.” Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Vol XXIII, April 28, 1862.

Arasu, A. Valan, and T. Sornakumar. “Design, Manufacture, and Testing of Fiberglass Reinforced Parabola Trough for Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors.” Solar Energy 81 (2007): 1273-1279.

### Course Meeting Times

Seminars: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

### Experimental Study Group

This section of the course was taught as part of MIT’s Experimental Study Group (ESG). In contrast to the set structure of the regular curriculum, ESG’s flexibility allows students to go at their own pace whenever possible and to organize their schedules to suit their needs. ESG’s small classes allow students to interact more often with faculty and fellow students than is typical in larger classes, and to experiment with novel ways of learning the material.

### Prerequisites

This course has no prerequisites and is open to all MIT students. The subject is normally required for majors in science writing.

### Course Description

This subject is designed to improve communication ability and communication habits. Additional improvement is expected in students’ attitude towards writing and oral presentations; as the semester progresses, students should feel confident of their ability to write, present, and work in teams. Satisfactory performance in 21W.732 indicates a mastery of communication skills sufficient for success at communication tasks required in MIT classes.

The ESG section of 21W.732 introduces writing, graphics, meetings, oral presentation, collaboration, and design as tools for product development. The communication instruction is embedded in design projects that require students to work in teams to conceive, design, prototype, and evaluate energy related products. The communication instruction focuses on the communication tasks that are integral to this design process, ranging across design notebooks, e-mail communications, informal oral presentations, meeting etiquette, literature searches, white papers, reports, and formal presentations In addition to the assignments specific to product development, a few assignments, especially reading and reflection, will address the cultural situation of engineers and engineering in the world at large.

Expect to devote six hours of “scheduled” time per week (including both writing and design) to 21W.732; four of these hours will be class time, and two of these hours will be “non- class” time that can be used for team meetings, conferences, and project work.

There is NO final exam in 21W.732.

### Text

No text is required for this course. We encourage students to own and cherish a copy of their favorite style guide. Additionally, style and grammar help is available on the World Wide Web. For example, The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing is a handy reference.

### Teaching Approach

- Communication is both a process and a deliverable. Students will examine both the results of communication (e.g. text and presentations) and the recipes for producing such results. Five process/product pairs are emphasized: writing/graphics/presentation; reading; meetings; collaboration; and design. View the 21W.732 Processes Summary (PDF).
- Communication improves with practice. There is no other way. Students will practice communication by communicating as necessitated by the product design process. Feedback, from both peers and instructors, on this communication produces better communication.
- Communication is a collaborative activity, a collaboration between the communicator and the audience. Both expect cooperation from the other. Without this cooperation, nothing is communicated. Communication can also be a collaboration among team members working together on a common task. Students will collaborate often to improve their habits as communicators.
- Writing and speaking are complimentary skills.
- To write the write, you need to read the read; to talk the talk, you need to listen.
- Communicators put more time and effort into communicating when subject matter is near and dear.

Almost all work in 21W.732 is based on the Peer-Review Evaluation Process (PDF) design cycle, whereby individual thought develops into a collaborative project. This cycle applies to both the communication work and the product design. For more info concerning this design cycle, see: Graham, M., A. Slocum, and R. Moreno Sanchez. “Teaching High School Students and College Freshmen Product Development by Deterministic Design with PREP.” Journal of Mechanical Design 129 (July 2007): 677.

### Assignments

Written assignments cover a range of lengths (1-10 pages), genres, and degrees of formality. Expect assignments to be completed in installments. By the third week, all written assignments are to be submitted by posting them on your Web site.

Reading assignments: Expect to comment briefly on all reading assignments in your notebook and to discuss the reading in an intelligible and intelligent manner.

Design Notebook: The design notebook is a kernel from which ideas grow; tend it accordingly. Become accustomed to documenting your ideas in this book, which is characterized by sketches, lists, informal writing, jotting, pasted printouts, and chicken scratching. Use the notebook to respond to the reading assignments. Early in the semester, notebook entries will be suggested; do not limit yourself to the suggested topics. Notebooks will be reviewed at intervals during the semester.

### Assessment of Communication

You will receive suggestions and constructive criticism of your writing in the form of:

- written response from your peers
- in-class response from instructors and peers during workshops
- meta-commentary on the responses from your instructors
- written and oral comments from your instructors

### Grading

One aim of this subject is to effect a shift from an emphasis on “grades” to an emphasis on collaboration and peer feedback.

At some level your grade is a measure of your instructors subjective impression of your work. To provide an idea of what aspects of your work might contribute to this impression, expect that your written work will account for half your final grade; written assignments will count roughly proportional to their page length and degree of formality. Both the final text and the manner in which it has been produced will be evaluated. The remainder of the grade will be derived from oral presentations, collaborative work, and class participation. Oral presentations grading is digital; deliver and full credit will be delivered; fail to deliver and credit will fail to be delivered. A component of the collaborative work grade will be determined by your colleagues. Perennial tardiness and loud snoring during class are both likely to tarnish the impression you make on your instructors and colleagues.

Come to class; work with your colleagues; strive; write lots and prosper.

### Collaborative Work

Team work is central to functioning of this class (and any modern engineering endeavor), so time will be devoted to the dynamics of team formation during the early part of the semester. So, during the first weeks of class, satisfy yourself that you’ll be able to work together on a team with the other students in this class. And, in the first weeks of team work, identify problems promptly, document them, bring them to the attention of your team member and your instructors, and diffuse them using the best diplomatic practices available to you.

## Course Info

##### Instructors

- David Custer
- Elizabeth A. Page

##### Departments

- Comparative Media Studies/Writing
- Experimental Study Group

##### As Taught In

Fall 2010

##### Level

Undergraduate

##### Topics

- Business
  - Project Management
- Fine Arts
  - Media Studies
    - Digital Media
- Humanities
  - Literature
    - Academic Writing
    - Nonfiction Prose
    - Technical Writing
- Social Science
  - Communication

##### Learning Resource Types

group_work Projects with Examples
assignment_turned_in Written Assignments with Examples
co_present Instructor Insights

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