Learning through the Hands-on Project: An Introduction to the Freshman Engineering Program

This study introduced different kinds of “hands-on” projects for freshman students in College of Information and Electrical Engineering and College of Construction and Development at Feng Chia University in Taiwan. These projects focused on engaging the students to the real engineering world, developing an understanding of basic engineering concepts, inspiring learning motivation, rising awareness of engineering career, and teaching them how to learn. These hands-on projects followed the CDIO approach, and the required courses are relevant to the “smart city, smart life” topic. This freshman project consists of three main parts: a series of lectures and seminars, hands-on projects, and a group presentation or competition. Moreover, it is hoped to help students develop personal, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills through the learning process. This study used mixed methods to analyze this freshman engineering program. First, freshman students spent about 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire in the beginning of the project. They were asked to rate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with each statement on a five-point Likert scale. Paired-samples t-tests were used to evaluate changes from baseline to follow-up. Also, we conducted interview with teachers and students. Implications of these findings are discussed from the viewpoint of arousing students’ motivation with freshman project.

Proceedings of the 13th International CDIO Conference in Calgary, Canada, June 18-22 2017