Sprints Vs. Marathons: Two Potential Structures For Assigning Engineering Design Projects

While a major goal of an engineering education is the preparation of students for solving “real world” problems, actually assigning these problems is rarely possible in a teaching environment. A number of different strategies exist for structuring student projects, so that they prepare the students for the work environment. We will compare the benefits and the costs of two of these strategies for structuring student projects. Both methods are currently employed in the Biological Resources Engineering Department at the University of Maryland. Furthermore, both strategies, described below, have their strengths and weaknesses. In the first, more common, structure, students are assigned group projects that last the entire semester. The time available allows the assignment of complex and relatively unbounded projects, and the students can be exposed to the entire process of project development. However, because of the duration of the project, only a single iteration of this process is possible. Furthermore, in practice, the majority of the project tends to be performed in a short period of time, just prior to the due date. An alternate strategy is to assign a number of short projects throughout the semester. In this approach, three high intensity, short duration projects are assigned. The students must build expertise in an area in a matter of only a few days, requiring them to develop both research and time management skills. In addition, because multiple projects are assigned, projects may be assigned in different disciplines and the students have several opportunities to correct their mistakes and polish their report writing skills. However, because of their short duration the projects must be somewhat limited in scope. Furthermore, because of the short duration of the projects, the students become completely immersed in their projects, to the exclusion of their other classwork.