Assessment of Oral Communication in Senior Engineering Students

Senior engineering students are required to practice oral communication skills during their studies in preparation for their professional practice. However, most technical courses dedicate their time to engineering knowledge rather than oral (or other) communication skills. The paper presents a method with specific materials and rubrics to help students improve their oral communication skills in a technical course. The method prepares students for the final presentation in the Capstone Design course, evaluated by faculty and practicing engineers. Results show that most students attain good and excellent performance in their final oral presentation, demonstrating student’s ability to communicate effectively with practitioner engineers.