VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY
Abstract
Communication skills are an accreditation requirement of our engineering degrees, but graduates are often not at the standard employers expect. Therefore, this research trials the use of the Flash Slam format (the writing and reading aloud of short fictional works) because it refreshes and extends existing skills; the Institution of Structural Engineers have emphasised the need to develop our graduates’ imagination in tackling the climate emergency; and focus groups with second-years found that while they have all read fiction, entertainment is primarily accessed in short formats. Additionally, storytelling is known to be a valuable pedagogic practice, and the critiquing workshops facilitate students in forming successful learning communities. Qualitative feedback from a pilot was positive, with quantitative results showing marginally higher laboratory report marks. Following a few updates, two cohorts of approximately 150 first-year civil engineers completed the Flash Slam Communications Skills coursework. This required students to write a 500-word fictional email to a superior, set in 2050 and extrapolated from engineering research. They peer-critiqued first drafts and a week later read second drafts to their Personal Tutors. Students submitted a reflection on the development of their writing and presentation skills for summative assessment and while stories were appended, they were not marked. On completion, 75 students from cohort #1 and 90 from cohort #2 consented to inclusion in this research and filled in a questionnaire. This paper analyses the survey results to identify trends, report on the outcome and highlight opportunities for improvement.
Jay Millington: I am a Chartered Engineer with industrial and academic experience, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. My main teaching areas at Cardiff University are hydraulics and surveying, and my roles include Senior Personal Tutor and Leader of the Engineering Pedagogic Research Group. My PhD from the University of Warwick concerned pressure surge modelling and I have published research on hydro-power and surveying. Having completed an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, my current research focus is on the use of fiction to develop undergraduate engineers’ communication skills.