7. Conclusions
Changing how the IMSE curriculum emphasizes and instructs communication skills was driven by analyzing and addressing assessment results. While the initial sample size is small, both quantitative and qualitative results from the first offering of a professional interactions course which emphasizes the process for effective communications are very positive. Three major points are made supporting this undertaking.
1. As with any skill set, there is a fundamental process for how to do something. There are five critical steps in the communication process, and ignoring any of the steps leads to communication inefficiency (best case) or fiasco (worst case).
2. Students can't just be given more "practice" time and tasks for something they don't know how to do. They must be taught the complete communication process and then be provided opportunities to apply their knowledge in practice, in a context that emphasizes that process and its relationship to professional activities.
3. The fifth step of the communication process, assessment, isn't the same thing as instructors evaluating a series of discrete criteria and providing feedback on those criteria. It is the communicator assessing his/her ability to communicate the message, i.e. checking for mutual understanding of shared meaning.
The integration of the course with the capstone design course and the exposure of students to multiple faculty members, multiple audiences (including faculty, industry partners, and other IMSE students), and multiple professional communication opportunities appears to have had dramatic impact on the students' skills, confidence, and attitudes. The second offering of the course during the Spring 2008 semester will provide insight into the scalability of the course. It will also provide the opportunity for IMSE faculty to assess its long- term viability and effectiveness as either a stand-alone course within the curriculum or as an incubator for