2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work in Progress paper will describe attempts at revitalizing a first-year engineering course. Engineering Fundamentals is a freshman course offered for both engineering technology and engineering students at Middle Tennessee State University. Traditionally, this course covers unit conversion, engineering ethics, basic math skills and their applications in various engineering disciplines, and so on without many hands-on activities. This paper discusses the revitalization of this course that combines the usage of the MATLAB with the Lego Mindstorm EV3 robotics kit. In Fall 2022, the course was redesigned to include three components: (i) Introduction to MATLAB programming; (ii) Using MATLAB to solve math and engineering problems; and (iii) Using MATLAB to control the Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot. Throughout the semester, mini labs were introduced to allow students to work and ask questions on different topics, such as basic coding structures, solving math problems, programming sensors, and controlling actuators. All the coding work in the course culminates in a final project where students are provided the freedom to choose a project topic. Sample course projects include robotic sumo battles between teams, projectile launchers, and programmable movement of the robots via external mediums such as a gaming controller.

This paper details how the course was redesigned, the student projects, the results from Fall 2022, and lessons learned in the process. Our ultimate goal is to improve student teaching evaluation and retention. Future work includes: (i) Comparing student teaching evaluations and retention rate with those in the recent years; (ii) Providing the students with a survey to offer their input as to not only the final project but also the entirety of the course; (iii) Utilizing other platforms/robotic kits suitable for freshman engineering students. We hope that this paper can help others who are interested in introducing hands-on activities and real-world applications to freshman engineering courses.