Engineering the right start
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The academic calendar wasn’t the only thing that flipped when Ohio State switched from quarters to semesters in 2012.
The College of Engineering’s First-Year Engineering Program also transitioned to an inverted classroom model by flipping lecture and homework activities. The result? Classroom time that is filled with as much active, experiential learning as possible.
“The main advantage is that the flipped classroom model creates an active, engaged learning environment. It makes better use of the instructors’ and students’ time by having the instructor interact with students while they are actually using the material,” said Bob Gustafson, professor and director of the Engineering Education Innovation Center (EEIC).
The same model also applies to labs, where students are expected to review terminology, objectives and expected outcomes in advance so they can effectively use their time doing the experiment or measurement, Gustafson said.
Lectures haven’t disappeared entirely, but are limited to reinforcing what students have learned, clarifying material and discussing applications.
“It helps the students become more responsible for their own learning and be more self-directed, because that’s really how they’re going to succeed here at the university,” said John Merrill, associate director of the EEIC.
The flipped model fits perfectly with the college’s philosophy of emphasizing experiential learning by allowing the most time possible for that learning to occur. It also helps prepare Buckeye engineers for their future careers.
“If you think about how engineers practice, they’re doing those same things: looking up new information, finding out about it, then applying it,” said Gustafson. “With a novice, you need somebody there to supervise that application and practice. That’s what the role of the faculty is, to coach through the application, rather than do the fundamental presentation.”
This change is just the latest innovation to the college’s first-year program, which has been evolving since 1999 to provide the best engineering education possible.
“At first I was overwhelmed by the extent of what was required of me,” said David “Trey” Hakanson III, honors student and first-year engineering major. “But gradually I came to realize that the program was here to push me to my limits so that I could go beyond everything I thought I was capable of. This is what got me excited about engineering. The First-Year Engineering Program gave me an opportunity to come out a better and smarter person than I ever could have imagined.”
Emphasizing the multidisciplinary nature of engineering from the get-go, all first-year engineering students take the courses, which provide a broad introduction to the field. Instead of forcing freshmen to choose a major right away, the program exposes students to each discipline and helps them make an informed choice as to which one is the best fit.
About one third of first-year engineering students haven’t picked a specific major, and of those who have, almost half end up changing it after they learn more about each discipline, Gustafson said.
Undergraduate and graduate teaching associates serve as peer-mentors and are a key part of the first-year instructional team. Not only do freshmen often feel more comfortable asking their peers a question about an assignment or campus life, but the opportunity also provides a unique professional development experience for advanced students.
Honors students design and build an autonomous robot and program it to complete specific tasks on a timed-course. At the end of each academic year, up to 75 four-person teams square off in the annual robotics competition in front of spectators.
Undergraduates in the standard and scholars tracks use advanced energy concepts and energy management to create their own AEV (advanced energy vehicle) and successfully address a real-world transportation scenario. Both projects involve the use of microprocessors, enabling students to use the latest technology to power their designs.
The projects also take the engineering and professional skills students have learned all year—including MATLAB programming, graphics, CAD, and the engineering design process and principles—and puts them to the test. They also provide an opportunity to practice critical team-building, communication, presentation and documentation skills.
Optionally, future engineers can choose the nanotechnology alternative to create a lab-on-a-chip sensing system. Those in the Honors track may choose an integrated business and engineering alternative to create a new product, or an infrastructure design option.
The combination of hands-on learning and a multidisciplinary approach adds up to a program that puts Buckeye engineering students on an early path of career success, as many employers will attest.
“I have found that the combination of theory and hands-on application early in a student’s college career enables them to take on the role of summer intern leading to a full-time offer,” said Michael Fairburn, manager, engineering projects, Deepwater GOM at Shell Exploration & Production Company. “As I reflect over the students we have hired over the past 10 years from the First-Year Engineering Honors program, those students have continued to contribute to Shell’s success in all areas of our company.”
That early project experience also sets Buckeye engineering students apart when it comes to securing internships and co-ops.
“Ohio State engineering sophomores do well in P&G job interviews because they have had a real engineering project experience as freshmen. They can talk about how they solved problems, and they have leadership, teamwork, and project management experiences to describe to potential employers,” said Bruce Lavash, Research Fellow at Procter & Gamble. “These skills carry on into their internship experiences and their supervisors see the value. I am sure that is why my P&G colleagues regularly ask me, ‘Can you bring me another one of those Ohio State engineers for next summer?’”
