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Learning Skills for First Year Engineers

Dr. Eric P. Soulsby

University of Connecticut School of Engineering Storrs, CT 06269

Abstract

Engineering programs looking at ways of retaining students in times of dwindling enrollments have turned to tools taught in First Year Experience (FYE) courses as a way to help students adapt to higher education. As a part of the University of Connecticut FYE program, special class sections of a University Learning Skills course were aimed at Engineering majors. Essential study skills aimed at providing students with the tools necessary to bridge the gap between high school study habits and those needed for success in rigorous programs like Engineering in college are discussed. Data on retention of students enrolled in pilot offerings of the University Learning Skills course is presented. Suggestions for a freshman level Engineering course aimed at student adjustment to college with the ultimate goal of promoting solid fundamental study skills needed for success in follow-on Engineering course work is given in the paper.

Introduction: Today’s College Students

Each year students enter higher education with questions such as:

· “Will study habits that worked in high school also work in college? · With heavy academic demands, will I have time for activities other than studying? · Won’t such outside activities hurt my grades? · What if I don’t do well in my courses – can I get some help? · What if my roommates are very different from me?”[1]

Uncertain of what higher education has in store for them is only natural. However, in recent years the academic preparedness of students entering higher education has shown a shift away from those of the ‘academic’ subculture (the undergraduate student subculture of serious academic effort) to that of the ‘collegiate’ subculture (a world of football, fraternities and sororities, drinking, and campus fun; indifferent and resistant to serious demands from the faculty for an involvement with ideas and issues.) [2] As a result, students need to be exposed to skills that will enable them to survive the rigors of engineering study.

While the lack of preparation/motivation of students may be debatable, unlike decades earlier most students today take five to six years to complete the engineering degree, if they are

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Soulsby, E. (2002, June), Learning Skills For First Year Engineers Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10374