Student Outcomes And Experiences In A Freshman Engineering Design Course

Abstract

A group of seven University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering professors created and piloted a freshman introduction to engineering course with sixty-seven students in fall, 1994. The course concentrated on having freshmen work in teams to identify customer needs, find solutions, and design a final product for a genuine customer. Students in each of the seven lab sections first worked in small groups of three or four to create proposed solutions, then met as a whole-lab group to decide on a solution and design and test it. Students concluded the course with formal presentations to students, faculty and customers. An evaluation of the course based on extensive observations and interviews with students found that students experienced engineering in a personal, supportive, team-oriented environment. The course helped students make informed career decisions and develop a sense of professional identity as engineers. An analysis of retention data indicated that the students stayed in engineering through their freshman year at a higher than average rate of 96Y0, compared to 75$Z0 in a control group. Eighteen of the twenty women were retained.