2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work highlights the laboratory instructional design’s ability to impart skills and attributes that are needed by professional engineers in the current and near future, such as the ability to think critically and be problem solvers. First, the work focuses on how students are able to learn critical thinking skills by solving complex problems effectively through an open-ended project in an undergraduate laboratory course that incorporates four key features: (i) team-based framework; (ii) multidisciplinary education including sustainability of a project or coursework based learning; (iii) application of modern tools in complex engineering problem with an understanding of the limitations; and (iv) communicate effectively by means of oral presentation, and / or technical report writing on complex engineering activities. Second, this work focuses on how these instructions or features are taught and assessed for students to comprehend the increasingly complicated solutions of engineers’ problems in the undergraduate laboratory course and fulfillment of ABET criterion 3. The open-ended project has been incorporated in sophomore laboratory courses at a higher learning institution, with a program outcome (PO) that is governed by the Washington Accord (WA) attribute through the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) network. The PO’s relate the ability of students to do a set of knowledge or skills acquired as they progress through the program by graduation. The course outcome (CO) with the performance description is mapped to their respective PO’s by a CO-PO matrix. In addition, an assessment matrix offers a framework to identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the attainment of each program outcome. The assessment consists of a safety quiz, pre-labs, final reports, an open-ended project, an instructor evaluation, and peer evaluations that relate the relevant CO and strategies to their respective PO. The laboratory course requires a three hour laboratory weekly meeting or work over fourteen weeks based on the following learning schedule: Introduction and laboratory safety procedures, five fundamental tests on continuous weeks, project proposal submission weeks prior to the commencement of the open-ended project at weeks 11 and 12. The project proposal creates the chance for each team to develop their understanding and validate experimental set-up through social negotiation with their instructor. This therefore encourages synthesis of learning through constructivism. The open-ended project is an example of a practice that reinforces engineering students when solving complex problems. The results showed PO attainment achievement of between 79 and 98 percent for five consecutive semesters I 2019 to semester I 2021. The laboratory course with an open-ended project encompasses the three pillars of pedagogical learning theory: behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist. The open-ended project is easily designed according to existing laboratory equipment and therefore transferable to any institution.