Teaching mechanics to freshmen by linking the lecture course to a design course

Stevens Institute of Technology recently revised the Engineering Curriculum to include an expanded design course sequence, having a design course each semester to form a Design Spine. The Design Spine allows development of many of the "soft skills" demanded of engineering graduates, as embodied in ABET EC Criteria 2000, by evolving them over the four years of the design sequence. Examples include effective team skills, project management, communications, ethics, economics of engineering, etc. It is also a means to enhance learning, as each of the design courses is linked to engineering courses taught concurrently. Students see this strong linkage for the first time in the second semester of the freshman year when they take Mechanics of Solids concurrently with Engineering Design II. Mechanics of Solids is a four-credit lecture/recitation course that integrates the topics of statics and strength of materials courses that were taught separately in the previous curriculum. In the two-credit Engineering Design n course, students undertake a series of four experiments and two design projects to reinforce concepts from the mechanics of solids lecture course through hands-on experience. The main objectives of this approach include integration of design and other engineering practice skills (according to ABET EC Criteria 2000) into engineering mechanics and improved teaching of engineering mechanics to freshmen. The main components included in this integrated teaching approach and a preliminary assessment of its effectiveness so far are presented.