1st year design at the u of c

Engineer of the Future 2.0Olin College, 1 April 2009

First Year Design & Communicationat the University of Calgary

Dr. Bob BrennanAssociate Dean (Academic & Planning)

Schulich School of Engineering

Dr. Ayo JejeAssociate Dean (Teaching & Learning)

Schulich School of Engineering


Outline

• Engineering Design

• Fourth-year “Capstone Design”

• First-year Design and Communication

• Challenges


Engineering Design

• Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB)

– Engineering design integrates mathematics, basic science, engineering sciences and complementary studies in developing elements, systems and processes to meet specific needs. It is a creative, iterative and often open-ended process subject to constraints which may be governed by standards or legislation to varying degrees depending upon the discipline. These constraints may relate to economic, health, safety, environmental, social or other pertinent interdisciplinary factors.


Engineering Design

• CEAB Definition– Engineering design integrates mathematics, basic

science, engineering sciences and complementary studies in developing elements, systems and processes to meet specific needs. It is a creative, iterative and often open-ended process subject to constraints which may be governed by standards or legislation to varying degrees depending upon the discipline. These constraints may relate to economic, health, safety, environmental, social or other pertinent interdisciplinary factors.

“Inquiry-based Learning”


“Capstone Design”

• CEAB became more prescriptive in terms of how and where this content is taught in 1996:

– The engineering curriculum must culminate in a significant design experience which is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and which preferably gives students an exposure to the concepts of team work and project management.


The Typical Capstone Design Model

• Two half-courses– Design methodology and application

• Inquiry-based learning– Problem or question driven design projects– Small groups / self-directed teams of 4-5 students– Critical discourse design reviews– Interdisciplinary / research projects tend to require

interdisciplinary knowledge and/or research

F W F W

1st 2nd

F W

3rd

F W

4th

Capstone


An Excellent Platform for Inquiry-based Learning …


Only in 4th Year?

• Common Core Curriculum Redesign (Spring 2000)– Canadian Academy of Engineering, CEAB, U of C Curriculum

Redesign Initiative– Experiential learning

• Result: 1st Year Design & Problem Solving Stream– ENGG 251/253 “Design and Communications”– 2 x H(1-4.5) in first year– Experiential learning design labs (ICT Building)

F W F W

1st 2nd

F W

3rd

F W

4th

CapstoneInquiry-based Learning ??


2001/2002 2002/2003

First Year First Year

1AMAT 217Calculus

AMAT 217Calculus

2AMAT 219

Multivariable Calculus AMAT 219

Multivariable Calculus

3CHEM 209

General Chemistry CHEM 209

General Chemistry

4ENGG 201

Liquids, Gases, Solids ENGG 201

Liquids, Gases, Solids

5ENGG 203

StaticsENGG 205

Mechanics I

6ENGG 215

Design, Practice & CommsENGG 251

Design & Comms I

7ENGG 233

Computing IENGG 233

Computing I

8ENGG 249Dynamics

ENGG 253Design & Comms II

9MATH 221

Linear AlgebraMATH 221

Linear Algebra

10PHYS 259

Electricity & MagnetismPHYS 259

Electricity & Magnetism

11PHYS 269

Acoustics, Optics, Radiation Complementary Studies

Second Year Second Year

1AMAT 307

Differential EquationsAMAT 307

Differential Equations

2ENGG 313*

Drawing & Comp GraphicsENGG 349*

Mechanics II

3ENGG 319

Probability & StatisticsENGG 319

Probability & Statistics

4PHYS 369**

Acoustics, Optics, Radiation

* except ENCM, ENEL, ENSF** excpet ENCH, ENOG

* except ENCM, ENEL, ENSF** except ENCH, ENOG

* except computer, electrical and software engineering** except chemical and oil & gas engineering


Operational Effect of Change

• 1st Year Design & Communication– 600 students in 2002/2003– expanded to 720 students in 2006/2007

• Doubling of Instruction Hours – ENGG 215/313: 953 hours– ENGG 251/253: 1880 hours (2819 hrs post-expansion)

• Increase in Teaching Resources– Number of instructors increased by a factor of 4.5– Number of teaching assistants increased by a factor of

3


First Year Design Labs

“Coaches”

Instructors

DesignStudio

DesignStudio

DesignStudio

Shop

Bro

ad

cast


Experiential Learning Spaces


Tools of the Trade …


Ready …

Set …

Go!

Design/Build Experiences


Challenges - Large Classes

• “Hand-on” Design– providing a significant “hands-on” design experience to

720 students

• Course Co-ordination– getting the message out (communication)– managing a large teaching team– managing multiple student projects

• Course Objectives– appropriate student projects– appropriate intended learning outcomes

• Space– specialized teaching labs


Challenges - Assessment

• Subjective– “good design” vs. “good design process”– Competency-based

• Broad range of assessment tools– Performance assessment of processes or products– Oral communication– Portfolios

• Reliability– Consistency across judges– Consistency across forms of assessment

• Grading– Aggregating varied assessments into an overall letter

grade


Challenges - Instruction

• Teaching Workloads– Teaching workload is approximately double that of other

engineering science courses– Given that the model involves a fall term course and a winter

term course, this requires higher than normal annual workloads

• Teaching Skill Sets– These courses also require instructors with special skill sets

that are not common in typical engineering departments: i.e., visual, oral and written communication.

• Teaching Assistants– These courses rely heavily on a large team of teaching

assistants– Like the instructors, the teaching assistants’ load is higher (60

hrs/term vs. 40 hrs/term) and they must have engineering design, visual, oral and written communication skills

1st year design at the u of c

Education

year design communication

year capstone design

year design problem

capstone design ceab

engineering sciences

software engineering

typical capstone design

engineering science