Freshman Engineering: An Introductory Computer Course Teaching Matlab And Labview

Abstract

Abstract NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Freshman Engineering: An Introductory Computer Course Teaching MATLAB and LabVIEW Abstract 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. Hands- on 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. Introduction The revisions to Clarkson’s ES100 course were made possible by a CCLI A&I grant1 from NSF. This proposal’s intent was to design a hands-on laboratory setup for all engineering undergraduates at Clarkson University.1 The Principal Investigators of this “Hands-On Learning in Engineering” project were Professors J. Dempsey, J. Carroll, J. Taylor, W. Wilcox, and A. Zander. The teaching methodology for the revised ES100 course adapted the ‘integrated teaching and learning’ paradigm pioneered and developed by Drs L.E. Carlson and J.F. Sullivan at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 2 The adaptation at Clarkson is a combination of laboratory experience woven within an introductory computer course teaching both MATLAB and LabVIEW. The goals and objectives of this original proposal are listed below. These goals have guided the ES100 course revisions throughout all of the twists and turns discussed in this paper. Significantly, note that just recently (February, 2008), Drs Sullivan and Carlson were awarded the prestigious 2008 Bernard M. Gordon Prize by the National Academy of Engineering for their ITL Program at Boulder. 3 Goals and Objectives The list of goals and objectives presented in the original project proposal are listed below: