A Transdisciplinary Approach for Developing Effective Communication Skills in a First Year STEM Seminar

Many STEM graduates leave school academically prepared in their fields however business leaders have been stating that they often lack the more intangible qualities such as teamwork, critical thinking, communication skills, and the ability to manage interpersonal relations. These are often referred to as ”soft skills”, yet they are tightly coupled with professional performance. Furthermore, they are all connected to basic communication skills, commonly referred to as oral and written communication, and their close counterparts, listening and reading. Such skills are not only add-ons to a STEM job, they can make the difference between a successful and a failing career, team, or even corporation. In the last decade there have been efforts such as those by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to advance broad- based systemic innovation to build and sustain strong undergraduate education in the STEM fields.