First Year Hands On Design On A Dime Almost!

The implementation of in-class, hands-on activities in first-year engineering classrooms can easily become a costly endeavor. This is especially true when the number of freshman students in the incoming class exceeds 1200. Additionally, difficulties in delivery logistics such as class time management and student team formation can often make an instructor hesitant to attempt participatory exercises within the confines of a regular classroom and a fifty-minute class period. This paper presents our experiences in the design and execution of seven first-year hands-on activities that incur very minimal expense and that focus on several aspects of the engineering design process. Topics covered in these exercises include: reverse engineering; the concept of a decision matrix using consumer versus manufacturer viewpoints; design criteria versus design constraints; and engineering analysis (problem solving, application of scientific principles, and log-log graphing). While a major goal of these exercises is to involve the students in team-based active classroom learning, we have also developed out-of-class work/questions for the exercises that offer individual reflective components to compliment and strengthen the in-class learning experience. Along with a review of the exercises that highlights the learning objective and student response to each activity, the paper offers notes on delivery logistics that have been successful in our classrooms and an account of the expenses associated with each exercise. The worksheets that we have created for these activities are provided as an appendix to the paper for reader use, and solution keys to the worksheets are available from the authors upon request.