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Session 3253

Integrating the First Two Years of Engineering Education

Marc Hoit and Matthew Ohland Civil Engineering, University of Florida

Abstract

The University of Florida (UF) is conducting an integrated engineering education experiment (covering the first two years of engineering education) for the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering EDucation (SUCCEED), one of the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Education Coalitions. The guiding purpose of this effort is to provide students the same benefits that have been achieved through total program integration while avoiding some major drawbacks of such schemes, such as significant changes in program administration.

We propose a model different from the total integration model, which has dominated curriculum reform research. In our model, course and department frameworks remain intact. Instead, we are changing the way faculty teach and the way students' time is structured to increase learning efficiency. We have 100 students enrolled in the program and plan to work with them for two years. Special sections of Calc I and Chemistry I were taught in the Fall semester of 1995. Sections of Calculus II, Chemistry II and Physics I are in progress during Spring 1996. These special sections are reducing the dependence on lecture and relying more on active and group learning models. More “studio” classes are being used to improve learning.

Introduction

The University of Florida (UF) is conducting an experiment to improve the first two years of engineering education. This time period in an engineer’s education is referred to as Stage I. This research is supported by the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering EDucation (SUCCEED), one of the National Science Foundation (NSF) engineering educational coalitions. This experiment represents one part of a larger SUCCEED project with other work being conducted at North Carolina State University (NCSU) under the leadership of Dr. Richard Felder. The UF portion consists of a radical change in the way we prepare our students for upper division engineering education. Traditionally, engineers take two years of math, chemistry, physics and humanities before entering the engineering disciplines. A number of innovative first year experiments have been conducted during the past several years at selected schools. The Rose Hulman [1] and

1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings

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Hoit, M., & Ohland, M. (1996, June), Integrating The First Two Years Of Engineering Education Paper presented at 1996 Annual Conference, Washington, District of Columbia. 10.18260/1-2--6126