Teaching oral communication at MIT: The proposal module

Abstract

This paper is the third in a series of papers describing the teaching modules used in an oral communication course at MIT called 6.UAT. This course is offered in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), the largest department at MIT, and is required for all EECS undergraduates. The third module is centered around an oral presentation assignment that introduces students to proposals and to persuasive presentations. We discuss the module and what we've learned, hoping that fellow practitioners will (1) adapt the module for use in their home institution, and (2) suggest modifications/improvements.