Design and implementation of a project-based active/cooperative engineering design course for freshmen

Abstract

A project-based active/cooperative design course is planned, implemented, assessed and evaluated to achieve several desired engineering outcomes. The course allows freshman-level students to gain professional hands-on engineering design experience through an opportunity to practise teamwork, quality principles, communication skills, life-long learning, realistic constraints and awareness of current domestic and global challenges. Throughout successive design reports and in-class assignments, the students are required by the end of the semester to communicate, clearly and concisely, the details of their design both orally and in writing through a functional artefact/prototype, a design notebook, an A0 project poster and a final oral presentation. In addition to these direct assessment tools, several indirect measures are used to ensure triangulation. Assignments are based on customer expectations using a detailed checklist. This paper shows the direct and indirect assessment tools that indicated a high level of achievement of course learning outcomes and a high level of student satisfaction.