CE 104 Civil Engineering Projects

Spring 2008

Questions and answers

Email Prof. Chris Rehmann to ask further questions.

1. What will we discuss in this class? What is the main purpose?

As stated on the syllabus, the goals of the class are to acquaint students with various careers in civil engineering and to enhance the professional practices of communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethics. Let me know if you are still unclear on the main purpose.

2. What is the workload for this class?

You will receive approximately one assignment each week. Some will take longer than others. I have not taught this class before, but I will strive to keep the assignments appropriate for a one-credit course.

3. Are there class notes?

I will post lecture notes on the main web page.

4. What is the grading scale?

I determine grades based on my assessment of your mastery of the material. Therefore, I do not assign an arbitrary number of A’s, B’s, etc. In theory, all students can earn an A (or an F). The course is not pass/fail.

5. Will I leave this class with an idea of what real engineers do?

The six guest speakers should give you an idea of what real engineers do. Some of the assignments will ask you to reflect on what the speakers present.

6. Can we pick our own homework groups?

I will choose the groups to model the choice of groups in industry and other fields. You may work with your friends also, but you must submit your homework in your group.

7. Can we get an engineer in my favorite area to speak to the class?

I will not be able to accommodate everyone’s wishes, but I will try to get an interesting sample of civil engineers to speak. Thanks for the request.

8. You are a picky (or critical or demanding) grader.

Yes, that is correct. I hope that my feedback will help you to improve your writing and other assignments. If you ever disagree with my comments or think a comment is unfair, please let me know. I aim to provide fair and constructive criticism—comments that will help you improve your communication skills.

9. You are a harsh grader.

If you mean picky or demanding, see the response above. If you are concerned about a grade, realize that I grade on mastery of the material—not some straight scale (e.g., 90-100 = A, 80-90 = B, etc). I avoid a straight scale because an overly difficult exam or assignment might put students at a disadvantage. Furthermore, if your writing improves over the semester, I want to be able to reward you for that improvement without being handcuffed by a lower score in the beginning of the semester.

With writing, I tend to be demanding—see the previous response. That doesn't mean I'm going to give low final grades to anyone who doesn't meet my standards, but I do want students to think about what they write and how they write it.

10. If you do not use a straight scale, how can I check how I am doing in the class?

You can email me to set up a time to talk about your performance, which depends on your group’s work on the assignments as well as the effort you put into your group.

11. How can I improve my grade?

Several ways:

a. Ask me for help.

If you are confused about an assignment or my comments, please ask me for help. If you find yourself getting frustrated by the assignments, ask me for help. If you would like me to offer advice on your speaker reports before you submit them, please ask me for help. You can probably save yourself (and me) a bit of time by asking for help.

b. Read the comments on the assignments.

Use the comments to guide what you do in later assignments. If I comment that better topic sentences would strengthen your reports, then write sentences that introduce the material in the paragraph. If you cannot figure out how to do it, then ask me for help.

c. Revise your speaker reports.

To help you to improve your writing, I will not comment extensively on the speaker reports. However, I will mark parts of the report that can be improved. To improve your grade (and your writing), you can revise and resubmit the report. Certainly, if you do not understand why I have highlighted a section of your report, then please…well, you know what to do.

d. Submit extra credit.

The syllabus explains how to earn extra credit. Since you are required to submit only four reports on the 5-7 speakers, you can also submit extra reports. I will count the best ones.

e. Participate in your group.

Be sure to meet the expectations that you and your teammates set. You will not do well in CE 104 if you do not participate actively in your group.

12. We discussed writing in two lectures. When are we going to talk about civil engineering?

One of the key points of CE 104 is that technical communication is civil engineering. The speakers from Kimley-Horn said that engineers with good communication skills will advance more quickly. Donna Buchwald emphasized writing over and over; she said that 50% of her time is spent writing emails. Most of the remaining lectures will be given by outside speakers; we will see what their thoughts on technical communication are.

13. Where can I see an example of what you want in a speaker report?

In lecture 6, I discussed (a) rhetorical factors, (b) structure, and (c) mechanics, especially as they apply to assignment 3. Check the lecture notes for these examples.

14. What can it do improve the functioning of my group?

Another objective of CE 104 is to improve teamwork. If you group is having trouble, you can ask me for advice on how to address the problem. I will probably suggest ways to improve the communication between group members. I can also mediate conflicts between members. In extreme cases, a group member can be “fired” from the group, and that person would have to find another team; do not use this approach without consulting me first.