Freshman Engineering Teaching Experience Using Computers Problems And Solutions

The objectives of a freshman or introductory engineering course are to teach the students fundamentals of engineering as a profession and to motivate them to develop an understanding of engineering problem solving skills using computers. Problems associated with teaching computer applications to freshman engineering students have been identified based on experience. These are time limitation, class size (number of students), students’ academic preparation and computer experience (skills), institutional needs and commitments (accessibility), instructor’s preparation, commitments, and attitude and some essential human factors. At the first year level, certain modes of computing are usefid. Computer software applications are more usefil than the traditional programming languages. Thus, some of the solutions to these problems are readily accessible computers (hardware), high-quality soflware, and dedicated support staff. Three important user-friendly software packages have been identified and used successfidly at the University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Engineering. Above all, students must be informed about the benefits of computer applications to freshman engineering. The benefits include quick engineering analysis, better communication and creativity, competitive advantage in job search and value to the students’ fiture employers. This paper will discuss the problems, the solutions and the essential human elements needed for the success of engineering teaching using computers. Introduction An introductory engineering course is the first core course in engineering that is taken by all engineering majors. Students in thk group are generally admitted either directly from high schools or those that just made up their mind to pursue engineering after one or two semesters in the college, The University of Oklahoma, College of Engineering decided to integrate computer instruction into freshman introduction to engineering in early 90’ sl. This was in response to a perceived need within the college to increase its computer instruction and the express advice of visiting engineering council members most of them from industry. The objective was to simulate the environment that the engineer will work in when he or she goes out into the job market. It was important that the students upon entering the industry, be computer literate and capable of producing a computer-generated engineering report or design. Highlights of the 1993 National Science Foundation Summer Workshop on Introductory Engineering Experience, held at Colorado State University’s Pingere Park Campus from July 12-16, 1993 ?@gtij 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings ‘J21yiy . P ge 125.1 indicated that certain modes of computing are usefil at the freshman leve12. Computer soflware applications are recognized as usefhl tools for freshman engineering courses, but not programming languages. The success of introduction of computing to freshman engineering was identified to be dependent on several variables. In particular Fitzhorn3 enumerated some of these variables as time limitatio~ number of students (class size), and their computer literacy and skill, academic preparatio~ institutional needs and commitments, resources level (dedicated computer room and laboratories for fi-eshmen), and instructor’s attributes (dedicatio~ level of commitment desire to motivate, etc.). At the same conference several moderators debated on the goals of teaching computer applications and computer programming at the freshman level. The consensus was that computer applications are taught for the following reasons: . To familiarize the students with the capability and use of the computer to solve engineering problems. . To build student confidence in using computers. ● To develop an understanding of the nature of computing and its limitations. ● Good for analysis, cornmunicatio~ creativity and visualization. . Valuable to employers. Thus, the advantages of computer usage in the first year introductory engineering course were identified as follow: . Early introduction of computers to the students is beneficial since computers are the new tools for engineers. . It provides a systematic way of solving engineering problems. . It is good for data storage and retrieval. ● It enables simulation of engineering problems (i.e. to play “what if”). ● Students are cotiortable in front of screens. ● It is a marketable skill for the students. ● Two other advantages were identified by this author while teaching. One is that more time can be devoted to more complex problems and thus increase the amount of learning that goes on. Also, students will be able to create their own mathematical models of reality and observe the effects of various actions. On the other hand, some disadvantages of computer usage to first year engineering students were enumerated. ● The engineering course may look like computer science. ● Students may misconstrue what engineering is. ● The computer hardwarehnguage may become obsolete. ● Computer bogs down the students with details and is time consuming in the initial learning stages. ● There is tendency for students to put too much trust in the answer. ● A burden is placed on resources due to high cost. One other disadvantage identified by this author is inadequate student preparation. Literature Review There has been a computer revolution in engineering education, but to date it has been much less far-reaching than many proponents predicted. Computers and calculators have greatly increased the ability of students (and practicing engineers) to petiorm calculations. Since computers and calculators allow professors and students to do a much better job at calculation, they have been widely adopted in engineering education. As a result, professors have changed the nature of the problems presented, and they have changed many of the mathematical techniques taught. This has been an important change in the way engineering is taught (and practiced). However, some authors believe that we have not seen significant adoption of computers for the delivery of instructional. <’h:$~ 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings ‘..,,pyy’.’ P ge 125.2 The commonly used generic computer tools are spreadsheets, equation solvers, and symbolic algebra programs. Simulation programs tend to be much less generic but will be discussed with the other tools. Before any computer application is adopted, the professor needs to determine whether five prerequisites for instructional use of computers have been met. The first three prerequisites listed by Trollip5 are accessibility, high-quality software, and faculty interest. The other two prerequisites listed by Wankat and Oreovicz4 are the advantage of computers and student computer background. Computer tools Engineering professors have discovered the use of generic software such as word processors, spreadsheets and equation solvers for the solution of engineering problems. These available software packages have become more powerfi.d, robust, and user-friendly. They represent an extremely usefi-d middle ground between hand solutions and computer programming. Furthermore, because some students will do almost anything to avoid programming, the generic packages are user-friendly enough that, with a little training, almost all students can be induced to use them. Thus, in many applications computer tools are a significant advance over both hand calculation and programming. Because of this advantage, computer tools, particularly spreadsheets, have been widely adopted. Students who have not learned a particular software tool before it is introduced in class are generally antagonistic about computer and they will not use it unless they receive help. KeedyG suggests the development of core manuals for soflware using the “20-80 rule”. He recommended that instructors should identi~ approximately twenty concepts and associated keystrokes which represent 80 percent of the power of the packageand everything the students need to do. By so doing, when students first learn the package, they don’t need to know the most eflicient way to do something; instead they need to know the easiest way to learn and remember. Once the 20-80 items have been identified, a short core manual which explains how to use these selected features should be written. Furthermore, interested students will learn other operations on their own or from other students once they know how to use the basics of the sofiware. Several authors’-lo have enumerated the advantages of the spreadsheets. As long as a spreadsheet has appropriate graphing and scientific fhnction features and is fast enough, the choice of spreadsheet is almost immaterial’. In addition, students who learn how to use one type of spreadsheet can easily learn to use a different spreadsheet on their own. Thus, there is no need to worry about them seeing a different spreadsheet when they graduate. Spreadsheets are easy to learn. On the average, one two-hour laboratory is sufficient to learn the basics. Spreadsheets remove much of the tedium from doing calculations and allow the professor to assign more meaningful problems. In many engineering classes spreadsheets allow students to get to real engineering problems faster, and permit them to focus on thinking since the program does the routine calculations. Spreadsheets are easier to use than programming from the start and hence tend to be more efficient. The students must be encouraged to use the spreadsheet regularly in some engineering problems because with practice the students become more proficient. The first generation of spreadsheets were slow, large-scale branching was diflicult as was the use of variable namesl”. However, present generations of spreadsheets are fast and versatile. Thus, this author is strongly in favor of the integration of spreadsheets into the engineering curriculum at all levels. Spreadsheets are not without problems. If students are unfamiliar with spreadsheets or do no