AC 2007-1395: OPEN-ENDED DESIGN PROJECT AS INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING FRESHMEN

A freshman design course CEGR 105 Introduction to Civil Engineering was designed and delivered as part of the effort for ‘early introduction of design into the engineering curriculum’. The course is a second semester orientation course that follows a broader first semester course called ORIE 104 Orientation to Engineering. With a team-teaching approach, members of the civil engineering faculty with varied technical backgrounds taught the class and assisted with various aspects of the design project. All lectures were focused on supporting the design project, which varied from alternative energy systems to hurricane resistant structures. The required class was primarily composed of freshmen in the Department of Civil Engineering. Typical student teams consisted of 5-6 members. Student teams were guided to follow the process of translating project objectives into specific design tasks, creating a timeline for the project, choosing team leadership, designating specific roles within the team and executing the design. The teams were also encouraged to establish a formal project monitoring system by defining a schedule of benchmark objectives. The 1 credit course, a with a total meeting time of 30 hours over a 15-week semester, consisted of approximately 10-12 hours in class dedicated to the design project, with an additional 4-6 hours in various forms of reporting. Teams were required to submit a written proposal and a final report, as well as make a formal team presentation of their design. A very detailed course assessment tool was used to obtain student feedback at the conclusion of the exercise. This (assessment) included self and peer assessment by the students in reference to the team design project. Students were also asked to provide detailed feedback about the quality and relevance of lectures and the quality of instructions and specifications about the project. In accordance with ABET 2000 criteria, the student feedback was analyzed, the results of the formal analysis being the basis for a system of continuous improvement to the course delivery. P ge 12129.2 “Proceedings of the 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ø 2007, American Society for Engineering Education” Introduction Multiple reports point to the decline in recruitment and retention of students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as well as the increase in the rate of professionals leaving STEM (NSB, 2003; NSB, 2004). The Task Force on American Innovation reports that the number of jobs openings in STEM areas is five times the number of US students graduating in STEM. The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) “Strategic Plan: FY 20032008” acknowledges that tapping the potential in “previously underutilized groups” will be critical for sustaining the technological lead the U.S. enjoys throughout the world (NSF, 2006). National concern has been expressed about the status of the U. S. science and engineering basespecifically the human talent, knowledge and infrastructure that generate innovations and undergird technological advances to achieve national objectives. Analyses have shown that there may be a significant shortage in the entry level science and engineering labor pool, and that scientific and technical fields could be significantly affected. Demographic data also shows a future with proportionately fewer young people and a work force comprised of growing numbers of minorities and the economically disadvantaged. These groups, which the economy must increasingly rely, have been historically underrepresented in science, engineering and related fields. According to Nikias, the Dean of the Viterbi School Engineering at University of Southern California, we have forgotten why these students wanted to become engineers in the first place. Engineering is enormously creative. If science is all about understanding nature, then engineering is about applying that understanding to create new technologies that profoundly affect our lives. But the traditional approach to engineering education–a heavy dose of rigorous math and science during freshman and sophomore years–does not engage students’ vision of an engineering career. Freshmen students are suddenly confronted with classes that seem to have little relevance to the discipline. Mathematics faculty members, rather than those in engineering, usually teach math classes (Nikias, 2005). The freshman year for an engineering student is very critical to his or her retention in the in the engineering program. There are reports in literature that the introduction of design in the freshman engineering course has an impact on the retention of students in engineering program , stimulated interest in engineering among freshmen, enhance soft skills like communication, working in teams and time management (Karl et al., 2000; Parker and Anderson, 2004; Rowe & Mahadevan-Jansen, 2004). One of the ways of retaining and stimulating students in engineering is therefore to involve them in engineering projects early in the program. Morgan State University School of Engineering under the auspices of Curriculum Development activities of ECSEL (Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence in Education and Leadership), a cross-institution coalition of universities including City College of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Penn State University, Howard University, University of Maryland and the University of Washington submitted a proposal to address this issue to the National Science Foundation and was funded in October 1990. The course CEGR 105 – Introduction to Civil Engineering was first developed by Goswami and Sincero as part of the Year 1-5 activities of this grant at Morgan State University. The course’s basic premise was to introduce engineering design to Civil Engineering freshmen. The course was offered for the first time in 1994. For the first two years (1994, 1995), the course was taught by Goswami and Sincero. According to the university catalog the description of the course is: P ge 12129.3