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MEEN40670

Academic Year 2024/2025

Technical Communication (MEEN40670)

Subject:
Mechanical Engineering
College:
Engineering & Architecture
School:
Mechanical & Materials Eng
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Mr Barry Brophy
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

See Video

• This module looks at some of the principles of communication in technical topics, applied to both oral (primarily) and written communications.
• Three group presentations will be given in front of the class with an accompanying report to explain how that communication was created and planned. These will be spread out across the semester and individual feedback given each time. There will be video feedback of the second assignment.
• There is no end-of-term exam. There is a one-hour in-semester theory exam which will be carried out during one of the lecture slots.
• The content of the module has a solid grounding in fields of cognitive and educational psychology and does not draw on unfounded rules-of-thumb such as ‘one slide per minute’ or ‘no more than 5 words per bullet point’.
• There will be a large degree of creativity and self-learning. Students will be asked to select their own case study material, their own communication topics, and devise their own approaches to each exercise.
• There will be peer-review and discussion of the various deliverables.
• Live lectures will be dedicated to activities that cannot be taught through notes, such as video clips, case studies, discussions, group feedback and brainstorming. There will not be scheduled letures for every lecture-slot in the timetable, but students will be expected to attend the sessions that are scheduled.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Perform an audience analysis to formulate useful and realistic aims for a communication, and structure a communication accordingly.
2. Identify the relative benefits of written and oral communications and use this to decide what that communication usefully can and cannot do.
3. Draft a practical presentation script (presentation only) separate to the set of visual aids.
4. Understand the principles of cognitive psychology that relate to visual aids, such as visual perception, gestalt grouping, matching of intellectual and visual inferences.
5. Appreciate the power of communication tools such as stories, analogies, examples, demonstrations, infographics, videos and audience interaction.
6. Appreciate the benefits of creativity in generating multiple approaches before selecting the final communication plan.

Indicative Module Content:

As per module descriptor above.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

36
Autonomous Student Learning

75
Total

111

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Group presentations
Video review of group presentations
In-class short group exercises
In-class theory exam

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Exclusions:

None


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
MEEN40820 - Technical Comms (Online)


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Group Work Assignment: Communication Exercise 1: This will involve groups choosing a topic, and then delivering a
6-minute presentation and a 1500-word report on this topic.		 Week 3 Graded No
20
 No
Group Work Assignment: Communication Exercise 2: Each group choosing both a static (newspaper, magazine, journal, book) and a dynamic (ag. video) communication and appraising each via short presentation & 2000-word report. Week 7 Graded No
25
 No
Group Work Assignment: Communication Exercise 3: Give a 6-minute group presentation on a technical topic and submit a 2000-word reflective report on how this was created. Week 11 Graded No
25
 No
Exam (Online): In-class theory exam administered through Brightspace. Week 9 Graded No
20
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: In-class exercises. Week 12 Graded No
10
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

For each of three group presentations, I meet each group individually after each presentation and give them verbal feedback on the assignment as well as their grades. They receive feedback on the last assignment before starting on the next one.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Small Group Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 33 Fri 11:00 - 12:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
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