Upchurch 1 Cross-Departmental Collaboration betwe Engineering ‘and Technical Communication Students Proposal for OURE Project Katherine Upehurch 12 December 2014Upchurch 2 Introduction Collaboration between students in univers setings enrich the ives ofthe students who participate in them, Collaborative projects cach stents accounability, task management, effective communication and ater essential skills, Much esearch has ben done on collaborative leaming, moslyon collaborations between sadensin differen counties. Taking a ditfrent approach o cllaboraive learning could improve its effet on students Students already do group work athe university level and even some major projets like Senior Design for Architectual and Civil Engineering stidents) consis of working in teams, However, if students were instead to collaborate wih students in differnt departments on camps, could his be more beneficial fr leaning how to collaborate with oters? eehinieal communicators in her diy ie have to allaborate wih engineers & vice ‘erst ing a major engineering shoo, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST) should prepare ther students for experiences they wil be dealing with in her careers, Likewise, techni! communicators nes to do the sme, What biter way to prepare for he fre then to simulate iton a college campus. This schools reputation for churning out topnotch graduates can only be improved by simatngreal-wod situstions. ‘Asa student, the best learning is through hands-on experiences and real-life situations. ‘The next best things, besides a ¢0-op or internship, are on-campus experiences that prepare ws for the future, Lechnical communication students should hope to be successful collaborators. 1 believe the best way to do this would be to practice.Upehuren3 Literature Review ‘After reading multiple articles surrounding the topic of callaborative learning it is very lear that working in groups can be beneficial for college students, “Research supports the notion ‘that collaborative writing is both more effective and more efficient than individual efforts.” (Stratton, 198, p. 178). What is becoming more and more prevalent in the world now i collaborative working, This is because “The days ofthe single person handling al aspects of product development ar long ge, and the ays of the slit ator fr technic! documents ae long gone, es wel.” (Staton, 1989, p.), Some sty that collaborating elestroncll via phone calls, crs and skyping can be sect sin person collaboration, but physical proximity remains more effestiv." (Hollow Ataway, MeNair, Part, 2007, p. 333) Inet, some ofthe researchers found tha. fce-to-ace meetings... ele inthe greatest bonding." (Holioway-Attaway, MeNai, Parti 2007, . 346), Bonding during collaborative fonts seems ike it might be inclevant however, *.. face-to-face meetings... resulted in he atest boning." (olloway-Attaway, MeN, Part, 2007, p. 346). This mportant because..." another key reason face-to-face communica s persists inthe workplace is that it is the surest way to establish and nurture the human relationship underlying business relationship.” Holloway-Ataway, MeNsir, Parett, 2007, p. 332). Collaborative work isnot only 4 preat way to improve business relationships but also a good preparation for students in college before they graduate, starting full-time professional careers, It is imperative that students experience collaborative efforts because ...chey (students) also need metaknowledge to help them understand the dynamics of such teams and the roles of eommanicatve acts in supporting ‘or sustaining such teams productively.” (Holloway-Attaway, MeNair, Pareti, 2007, p. 330). Ina