Project Researching STEM writing assessment tools Program Polytechnic Institute Term Academic Year 2025 Status Accepted Research Area STEM writing, technical communication Description Strong technical writing skills are crucial for engineering and technology students. However, many STEM instructors do not have sufficient time or background to give detailed feedback on writing, and writing instructors often face high enrollments. This project explores one possible way to make writing assessment more efficient. Supervisor Corinne Catherine Renguette Mentor Type of work required As a student researcher, you will search the available literature for writing assessment approaches for high-enrolled courses. You will learn how to use the document comparison feature in Adobe Acrobat. You will use this tool to conduct a pilot study to begin comparisons of early drafts of student writing with their final drafts from a previous research project. The goal is to see whether this method can help identify changes in writing without requiring as much time from instructors. In addition, you will look for potential problems or limitations with this approach and suggest possible solutions. This work will give you hands-on experience with primary and secondary research methods, software tools, and problem-solving in an applied academic project. Websites Qualifications Preferred qualifications include a desire to improve student learning and writing in STEM education, willingness to learn new software tools (training will be provided), attention to detail when comparing documents and examining data and results, the ability to stay organized and keep track of files and notes, and strong written communication skills (note-taking, summarizing). Credit Hours 1 Weekly Hours 0 (estimated)