Weatherford wins teaching award
As the winner of this year’s W Course Teaching Award, Petroleum Engineering’s Darla-Jean Weatherford will receive a $3,000 prize.
Weatherford, a lecturer in the department, was recognized for her work in developing and teaching PETE 435, a one-hour course that prepares seniors to do the kind of writing they’ll be expected to produce on the job as petroleum engineers.
Darla Jean Weatherford.
“If they’re catching on to what it looks like, then they’ll learn how to do it.”For Weatherford, the course is just one part of her larger mission to promote good technical writing.
“I’m
trying to change the way the industry writes, one Aggie at a time,”
Weatherford says with a laugh. That may not be far from the truth; this
semester alone Weatherford is supervising the writing of almost 200
students. They include both undergraduate and graduate students in
College Station and students at the Texas A&M campus in Qatar.
Weatherford also teaches a junior-level W course and is the instructor for the lab portion of two other W courses.
“Individually,
they’re all good courses,” she explains, “but collectively they
represent a writing program. And it’s the strength of that program that
makes PETE 435 possible.”
In all of her courses, Weatherford is
known for her exacting standards. Students often get their work back
with Weatherford’s trademark “R” on it, which means “revise and
resubmit.” It might also stand for “repeat,” as it sometimes takes many
tries before a paper meets Weatherford’s criteria.
By the time
students enter her senior-level course, Weatherford expects them to do
much of the work independently. The course is designed to give students
an opportunity for both low-stakes writing practice and the chance to
write for a real-world audience. She begins by having students read and
critique 15 professional papers.
After honing their critical
skills by looking at the work of other engineers, they turn to the
major project for the course, a report on work done during their summer
internships. They create a draft and then offer peer feedback.
The
most valuable feedback students receive, though, comes from industry
professionals
