Engineering A Traditional English Department: Writing Instruction And The Role Of Freshman English

This paper discusses the results of collaborative efforts to create a writing course across the disciplines for TIDE (Teaming, Integration, & Design in Engineering) students in traditional composition classes. In the fall 1999 semester, the engineering department at the University of Alabama developed a TIDE curriculum in an effort to assist incoming engineering freshmen and to retain more engineering majors. Students in the TIDE curriculum were immediately placed in cohort groups, which allowed them to take all four core classes their first semester (English, chemistry, calculus, and engineering) with the same faculty and group of students. English instructors were hired to teach Composition 101-F sections that consisted exclusively or predominantly of engineering majors. The goal of these EH 101-F sections was to encourage Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) principles to improve students’ writing for future disciplinary work and for industry. There were numerous obstacles and successes involved in the cross-disciplinary efforts to develop and teach an engineering cohort within a traditional English department. However, this paper will show that, according to both students and faculty, the results of this collaborative effort were positive. Recommendations for engineering faculty working at universities with traditional writing programs are given.