Engineering Education through Degree-long Project Experience

Engineering - Mechanical (56)

This is a CCLI Phase 1 Exploratory Project to create 3 well-devised, degree-long projects to integrate mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculum and to motivate student learning. An industrial partner is actively participating in planning and implementing each project. Each degree-long project is being developed in a sequence of courses slicing across the curriculum, typically one or two courses per quarter. In the first two years of the curriculum, the main focus of these projects is motivating the students by showing how the abstract concepts taught in fundamental courses are utilized in real-world engineering applications. An engineering design project in the senior year is continuing the theme and emphasizing transfer and synthesis skills. The project is recruiting high school teachers and underrepresented high school students to work with engineering students on the capstone projects. Student feedback is being analyzed and assessed in accordance with the project paths they select. The project has assembled an advisory committee from diverse institutions that are serving as an initial market to use the educational paradigm.