Undergraduate Engineering Students Find Meaningfulness in Statistics Technical Writing Project

Technical writing is a vital aspect of engineering education and practice.  Technical writing can serve a dual purpose in the pedagogy of complex topics by facilitating students’ understanding and deepening comprehension through communication.  This study analyzed a technical writing project designed to teach basic statistical literacy and technical writing skills in an undergraduate engineering probability and statistics course.  A proctored student survey was conducted at the end of the semester and subsequently analyzed to determine the project’s meaningfulness and influencing factors to students.  Meaningful writing can be experienced when an assignment goes beyond academic specifics and takes an ongoing significance for a student in their future careers or passions.  Over 87% of students indicated that they found the project meaningful, as it provided an opportunity to learn the course material (p=0.018).  Students also indicated the project was applicable to their fields as well as increased confidence for future writing projects in their professional careers (p=0.012).  These findings support technical writing as a meaningful dimension and productive learning experience for students in engineering pedagogy and specifically in statistical literacy.