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A Freshman Engineering Design Course
Author(s) -
Dally J. W.,
Zhang G. M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.1993.tb00081.x
Subject(s) - product design , curriculum , engineering , product (mathematics) , course (navigation) , new product development , engineering design process , product engineering , test (biology) , engineering education , engineering management , mathematics education , graphics , design education , computer science , pedagogy , mechanical engineering , psychology , management , paleontology , art , geometry , mathematics , computer graphics (images) , aerospace engineering , economics , visual arts , biology
At the University of Maryland at College Park, a new freshman engineering design course introduces design through a project approach. This approach has three phases: design, manufacturing and assembly. First, students learn basic engineering concepts by designing a simple product. Next, they manufacture and/or procure the product's components. Finally, they assemble the components and test the finished product. Since drawings for this product are part of the project, students must also learn entry‐level computer graphics. Reaction to teaching design so early in the engineering curriculum has been extremely favorable. Students are highly motivated by the design approach and, as a result, learn engineering fundamentals, develop critical thinking skills, learn to cooperate as team members and gain practical hands‐on experience.