2018 FYEE Conference

Assessing the impact of a first-year experiential learning course on women and underrepresented students

Presented at Technical Session I

This work in progress describes the implementation of a two-quarter first-year engineering program and the course impact on women and underrepresented students. The first-year engineering course focused on team-based experiential learning and taught the concept of engineering design through two hands-on projects, where students acquired engineering skills in CAD, basic machining, fabrication, circuitry and microprocessor programming. In addition, the course provided instructions on project management and teamwork, and opportunities to interact with faculty and industry speakers from different engineering disciplines. A control group was solicited among students who were not enrolled in the course during their first-year. Self-assessed student surveys were administered to both groups evaluating their motivation in engineering at the beginning of Fall quarter, and at the end of Winter quarter during their freshmen and sophomore year respectively. Survey results were compared between the cohort enrolled in the first-year course and the control group, among women and underrepresented students, to examine the impact of the course on student motivation.

Authors

Dr. Liang Li Wu University of California, Irvine [biography]

Liang (Lily) Wu is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine. She is also the Faculty Director of International Programs at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Dr. Wu is responsible for implementing, overseeing and assessing the ﬁrst-year engineering program and international programs to enhance and support the engineering education at the School of Engineering. Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Irvine with primary research focuses on the design, development and integration of microﬂuidic systems for biomedical applications.
Dr. Gregory N. Washington George Mason University [biography]

Gregory Washington is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Stacey Nicolas Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California Irvine. Professor Washington has been involved in multidomain research for the

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