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Assessing Learning Outcomes of Senior Mechanical Engineers in a Capstone Design Experience

1. Introduction

Design is widely considered to be the central or distinguishing activity of engineering. A capstone design course and project (Senior Design) not only provides a meaningful design experience for students, but also creates an opportunity for them to begin the process of becoming engineering professionals. Participation in capstone design projects deepens a student’s understanding and promotes the communication and teamwork needed to solve complex problems. Also, enabling students to be part of the intellectual process instills in them a sense of fulfillment and imparts life-long benefits. Capstone design courses are also one of the most effective ways for engineering departments to facilitate to the outcomes of ABET criteria 3a-k. Although capstone design courses have great potential for bringing active learning to the undergraduate level, little is known about the student learning outcomes (what students know and are able to do, i.e. knowledge, skills, attitudes) as a result of these often year-long design projects. There are limited assessment studies that address what students learn from these capstone design projects. ABET criteria 3a-k challenges engineering institutions to produce graduates with professional as well as technical skills by outlining the desired attributes for graduating engineers. This paper discusses the bodies-of-knowledge and learning outcomes comprising of the countless ways in which students benefit from being involved in senior design projects. Since most of our students follow careers that lead to industry, of particular importance is how these design experiences help to make better engineers. A pilot survey instrument, which included the compilation of over fifty learning outcomes (categorized as either “technical” or “personal and professional” learning outcomes) closely linked to the ABET criteria and other desired skills, was developed and administered to 125 mechanical engineering seniors at Virginia Tech at the end of their first semester capstone experience. This will be repeated at the end of their second semester experience as well. Presented herein are results from the first semester only. Emphasis was placed on assessing knowledge and skills pertaining to but not limited to: (1) problem-solving, (2) writing and communication skills, (3) understanding and applying knowledge, (4) teamwork, (5) confidence gains, (6) organization and management skills, and (7) interest and engagement of project. In better assessing the quality of learning during this capstone design experience, we have classified these technical learning outcomes to the six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, a hierarchy of cognitive learning skills. Lastly, in accompaniment to the student survey instrument intended to assess the extent to which these students are achieving certain learning outcomes desired of engineering graduates, a similar faculty survey instrument was also developed to assess the extend to which faculty expected the students to meet these learning outcomes. The goals guiding this research effort were to: (1) identify and generate a set of student learning outcomes for undergraduate engineering students involved in capstone design, (2) develop two survey instruments, one for the students and one for the faculty advisors, to assess the students’ learning outcomes and compare these to how well the faculty felt that the students met these outcomes,

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Pierrakos, O., & Borrego, M., & Lo, J. (2007, June), Assessing Learning Outcomes Of Senior Mechanical Engineers In A Capstone Design Experience Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--1953