News

By: Matthew Jellick

Aiming to extend the reach of the CLE to different departments across campus, I had the opportunity to present a workshop for the Mechanical Energy and Engineering department, working with Dr. Wei Yan, and her class, “CAD and Engineering Drawing”.  Hosting a two-hour presentation which touched upon aspects of Time Management, Communication Skills and Presentation Preparation, my goal was to supplement the major assignment for Dr. Wei’s course, adding clarification to different critical aspects which make up a group presentation.

Addressing issues of leadership roles within group dynamics, the class discussion focused on finding the strengths in our partners while helping to alleviate their weaknesses.  In addition, we talked about recognizing roles within our group, from speakers, to organizers, and from researches to designers.  The students provided ideas which built upon my slides, speaking of their own experiences in this particular course, and how their roles have been impacted by these varying circumstances.

The Department of Mechanical Energy and Engineering is a forward-thinking group of educators, lead by Dr. Rong Yiming, and exemplified by teachers such as Dr. Wei.  Acting on behalf of the CLE’s director, Dr. Li Yuan, it was an honor to collaborate with them on this project, and I look forward to extending the breadth of our partnership going forward.   On the surface, a course about computer aided design might not have much to do with English acquisition, but when we look at it from the perspective of “Teaching as a Language”, our two departments have a lot to share, and I am grateful to be a part of this collaboration!