Freshman Engineering: An Introductory Computer Course Teaching Matlab And Labview

This paper will describe the adaptation and implementation of a revised curriculum for Clarkson University’s freshman engineering course ES100: Introduction to Engineering Use of the Computer. The objective in ES100 is to teach engineering problem solving using both MATLAB and LabVIEW. The course was previously taught by Clarkson University’s four engineering departments without the implementation of a common curriculum. Through the award of a Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement, Adaptation and Implementation (CCLI A&I) grant by the National Science Foundation, ES100 was consolidated into an interdepartmental course in spring 2005, in which all freshmen engineering students were presented with common course content. The teaching environment was restructured to place students in sections of around 30 students, each with their own computer workstation. A series of interactive, PowerPoint-oriented, hands-on lectures were created as part of the course restructuring. Handson laboratory experiments designed to reinforce lecture material and introduce experimental methods were also created. Post-course evaluation surveys were administered in 2005 and 2006. Survey results lead to the creation of a panel of students in summer 2006 that had just recently completed ES100. The advice of this student panel led course coordinators to continue revisions, including suggested lecture and lab revisions, a modified grading system, and the introduction of Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs). The spring 2007 course included these UTAs in the classroom. An additional evaluation survey was administered at the end of the course in spring 2007. This paper will report the findings of these surveys, the effectiveness of course revisions, and discuss the general impact of departmental course integration.