A Multidisciplinary Course Sequence Stressing Team Skills, Conceptual Design, Creative Problem Solving, Professional Practice, And Computing Skills For Students Entering The William States Lee College Of Engineering

At UNC Charlotte, a faculty team is offering a new sequence of two courses, ENGR 1201 and 1202, Introduction to Engineering Practice and Principles I and II, for all students entering The William States Lee College of Engineering. Our long-range goals for this course sequence include (a) using the course as a foundation for lifelong learning of computer, teamwork, creative thinking, professional, and personal development skills and attitudes, (b) widespread faculty involvement in the course sequence over time, leading to incorporation of demanding team and creative thinking skills in disciplinary courses, (c ) an appreciation by students and faculty of the power of diversity in team and individual thinking style preferences, and (d) through feedback and continuous improvement, evolution of the course sequence to meet the changing needs of all stakeholders, while maintaining the integrity of the foundational purpose. ENGR 1201 is an introductory two-semester hour course in which students are assigned to multidisciplinary teams to work on a semester-long conceptual design project while simultaneously receiving instruction and assignments in basic computing skills, personal development, team skills and tools, project planning, creative problem solving, introduction to disciplines, professional practice, and technical presentations. With few exceptions these topics are related to the semester design project, and exercises are designed to complement the project’s progress. The course culminates in team presentations which are evaluated and scored by faculty from participating departments. Extensive evaluation of the course by students and faculty have led to improvements such as decreasing the number of assignments, coordinating assignments among participating faculty, and linking the assignments more closely to the semester project. ENGR 1202 continues the emphasis on team skills and incorporates a discipline-specific laboratory component. Students choose laboratory sections corresponding to their majors and are assigned to teams which carry over to the common classroom sessions. In the disciplinary labs students are given instruction in the application of an introductory topic (such as engineering graphics or a computer language) and are assigned an open-ended semester-long conceptual design project utilizing the tools of that topic. The classroom portion of ENGR 1202 reinforces the team skills begun in ENGR 1201 and adds specific instruction and exercises in creative problem solving tools and techniques applicable to teams. Again, classroom instruction and Page 226.1 exercises parallel typical project progress, and the class culminates in team project presentations scored by participating faculty. In ENGR 1202, however, a comprehensive final exam tests students’ understanding of both topical material from the laboratory sessions and material on tools of creative problem solving in teams. As in the preceding course, ENGR 1202 is also undergoing continuous improvement based on feedback from the students and faculty. Introduction The need for engineering graduates to be proficient at working in teams and in creative problem solving is increasingly voiced both by employers and by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology , which is itself perhaps a reflection of the needs of industry ii iii . Of course, setting up and coaching teams in relatively small classes has been practiced here and elsewhere for some time. The questions we faced in 1994/95 were whether such a feat could be accomplished effectively for all students entering the college (about 500 per year for The William States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte), and whether such a course would receive the support from faculty and chairs in the various departments necessary to make the venture work. We, a multidisciplinary team of faculty from several departments, feel we have begun to address these needs and questions with a sequence of two new courses, initially offered in the fall of 1995 as a part of our new curricula 1 designed for all new students entering the college. Our co-author, Monika Lumsdaine, has provided assistance in team formation and functioning using the HBDI (the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument). The courses, designated ENGR 1201 and ENGR 1202, Introduction to Engineering Practice and Principles I and II, are taught and managed by a team approach which appears to be working well. Long Range Goals of the Course Sequence The vision for this course sequence arises from the strategic plan for the college, reported elsewhere ii , which stresses the importance of lifelong learning by our students as they enter the workplace. Thus the long range goals for the 1201/1202 sequence include: • Serving as a foundation for lifelong learning of computer, teamwork, creative thinking, professional, and personal development skill and attitudes; • Affording students an early experience of the “fun” of engineering design and problem solving which probably attracted them to the field in the first place; • Widespread faculty involvement in ENGR 1201/1202 over time, leading to incorporation of demanding team and creative thinking skills in disciplinary courses; • evolution of the course sequence to meet the changing needs of all stakeholders, while maintaining the integrity of these founding purposes. The goal of widespread faculty involvement has been both challenging and rewarding. It has led us to choose a rather unorthodox team approach to developing and teaching the course sequence. 1 This course sequence is a part of a general curriculum restructuring of which the common freshman year was implemented in the fall of 1995. It is supported by the SUCCEED NSF coalition as a part of implementation of “Curriculum 21” which involves the integration of TQM into the content and delivery of engineering education. P ge 226.2 The 1201/1202 Team Rather than have a single faculty member responsible for each of the two courses, we chose to use the team principles we are teaching students to manage and teach the course sequence itself. We proposed a team management scheme, as shown in Figure 1, to the college’s academic council (Dean and Chairs), and with the council’s sanction, we have used that approach, with some modifications, over the first two years of course offerings. The 1201/1202 faculty team is composed of lead instructors and guest lecturers from various departments in the college. Typically, the team meets three times per semester and the team leader and the lead instructors set the agenda. The first meeting is held just prior to the beginning of the semester to review proposed course changes based on student feedback and lessons learned from the instructors. Students provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback in the form of a course evaluation given as the final exam in ENGR1201. In ENGR 1202, a conventional examination over course material substitutes for the course evaluation “final” of ENGR 1201, so most of the changes in ENGR1202 have been influenced by anecdotal feedback and a standard end-of semester course evaluation, as well as a desire to better integrate and build upon the material introduced in ENGR 1201. The lead instructors may propose changes as long as the original objectives of the courses are not compromised. However, all changes must be approved by the 1201/1202 team. The second meeting is typically held in mid-semester. Results of mid-semester student course evaluations, lessons learned to date, and/or other topics associated with either of the courses are discussed. Members of the team openly share their ideas and experiences with the expectation that the course will continue to evolve and improve, deriving benefits from the teamwork for students and faculty alike. Another meeting is usually scheduled just before the end of the semester to finalize preparations for team project presentations and course evaluations, to discuss preparations for the following semester, and to share any additional lessons learned. ENGR 1201 Learning Objectives We selected learning objectives for ENGR 1201 as the basic platform on which to build team and creative problem solving skills in succeeding courses in the sophomore, junior, and senior years. Our objectives are that, upon completion of ENGR 1201, students have the ability to: • work productively together in teams; • use computers and computational tools afforded by the college; • begin a pattern of lifelong personal development and professional development; • contrast and integrate the various engineering and computer science disciplines; • make effective technical presentations; • plan technical team projects; • appreciate and take advantage of diversity in thinking preferences. To accomplish these goals we designed ENGR 1201 around two parallel thrusts, a semesterlong conceptual design project and simultaneous instruction and assignments in selected topics (see Table 1). With few exceptions, these topics are tied to the semester design project, and exercises are timed to complement the project’s progress. The course culminates in team P ge 226.3 presentations which are evaluated and scored by a cadre of faculty from the various departments in the college (as well as some faculty from Business and English). The course topics in ENGR 1201 include the following clusters: • computing skills (e-mail, world wide web, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation graphics, information access); • personal development (Covey’s 7 Habits iv and the HBDI); • team skills and tools (communication, valuing diversity in thinking preferences, brainstorming, and team roles);project planning (Gantt charts); • creative problem solving (conceptual design, Pugh Method, steps in problem solving); • an introduction to disciplines (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Computer Science); • technical presentations (effective organization, visual aids, and establish