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Retention 101: Where Robots Go … Students Follow
Author(s) -
PomalazaRáez Carlos,
Groff Brenda Henry
Publication year - 2003
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.2168-9830.2003.tb00742.x
Subject(s) - teamwork , creativity , process (computing) , project based learning , software , test (biology) , engineering management , the internet , computer science , engineering education , engineering , software engineering , multimedia , mathematics education , psychology , world wide web , management , social psychology , paleontology , economics , biology , programming language , operating system
At Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne we have developed ETCS 101—Introduction to Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science, a freshman success course for students in the School of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science. The main objective of this course is to increase retention. The course aims to provide students with sufficient computer and personal development skills and to help them develop the right mental attitude conducive for academic success. Features of the course include projects of software and hardware nature, extensive use of the Internet and Web software tools, and a team‐teaching format. As the main project of this course, small teams of students design, build, program, and test an autonomous mobile robot using LEGO® parts, sensors, and the Robotic Command eXplorer (RCX) controller. This is a multidisciplinary, project‐driven learning process that encourages students to develop problem solving and teamwork skills and fosters their creativity and logic.