How Do Students In A Project Based First Year Engineering Curriculum Perform In A Sophomore Engineering Mechanics Course?

Interest and implementation of project-based engineering courses have been growing during the past decade. However, evidence-based evaluations of the degree to which project-based courses have improved student retention and learning are still rare. Faculty members at Texas A&M University have developed a project-based first-year engineering curriculum that draws on the established knowledge base of integrated engineering curricula to construct a new learning experience for engineering majors. The first pilot of the curriculum was offered to approximately 200 students in the 2004-05 academic year. Students who continued in engineering are now taking a sophomore engineering mechanics course in classes with students who were in traditional first-year courses. Comparison of their performances in the second-year course provides an opportunity to examine whether and how participation in the STEPS first-year curriculum has improved their performance in a core sophomore engineering course.