2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Each first-year student attending the XXXXX (XXXX) at the University of XX (XXX), regardless of declared major, must complete a two-course sequence of introductory engineering courses. These courses, Engineering Methods, Tools, & Practice I (ENGR 110) and Engineering Methods, Tools, & Practice II (ENGR 111), introduce the fundamental tenants of the engineering profession. The first course in the sequence, ENGR 110, focuses on introducing a variety of fundamental engineering skills. The second course, ENGR 111, is a hands-on, project-based course housed in a 15,000 square foot makerspace that has students integrate and apply the skills learned in ENGR 110. One of the many skills taught in this sequence is basic programming.

The programming instruction presented in ENGR 111 is an extension of the programming skills learned in ENGR 110. However, ENGR 110 teaches programming basics in Python, whereas the ENGR 111 instruction utilizes Arduino microcontrollers for its programming curriculum. The programming instruction in ENGR 111 also forgoes standalone programming assignments for scaffolded modules that prepare students for an end-of-semester Cornerstone Project. Regardless, students gain a wide introduction to software design concepts that help prepare them for the remainder of their academic and professional careers.

In this paper, two semesters of ENGR 111 with two different Cornerstone Projects will be compared. Project 1 took place during the spring of 2022 and was comprised of a windmill generation system. Students constructed this windmill and used Arduino programming to interpret sensor data and calculate system performance. Project 2 took place during the 2022 summer semester and was comprised of a water filtration system. In this project, students utilized the Arduino to both observe system information and control its behavior.

At the end of each of these semesters, students took a survey in which they provided their perceptions of the programming instruction they received. There are questions in which they self-report their confidence in programming. Results of these questions from Spring 2022 (Project 1) and Summer 2022 (Project 2) are compared in this paper.