Exploration and Practice of"Introduction to Engineering"for Freshmen:A Case Study on Guangzhou International Campus of South China University of Technology
Under the current education mechanism,the first-year education system often fails to effectively motivate students to acquire professional knowledge or set their professional learning goals.The development of engineering skills,literacy,and critical thinking requires time.Therefore,to cultivate future-oriented engineering talents who meet the era's requirements,it is essential to optimize the existing first-year engineering education system.This optimization would enable students to gain the general framework of the discipline and stimulates their interest through real engineering experiences.The"Introduction to Engineering"course for freshmen,as a kind of first-year engineering experience,which applies entry-level projects as the main thread and establishes real-problem situations,can balance engineering experience and learning depth.This balance drives freshmen to actively engage in knowledge architecture,apply knowledge to solve problems,and develop in-depth learning.Notably,the"Introduction to Engineering"course for freshmen features"learning by doing".Thus,it should provide students with adequate"scaffolding"at each stage of course implementation.The strategies adopted mainly include linking to appropriate situational materials,promoting students'thinking demonstration during the learning process,facilitating in-depth interaction,and implementing evaluation methods directed at evidence description.This paper examines the reforms implemented in the"Introduction to Engineering"course for freshmen at the Guangzhou International Campus of South China University of Technology.These reforms span across teaching concepts,goals,course content,teaching organization forms,and assessment methods.This paper assesses the course implementation from both objective and subjective viewpoints,integrating course ratings with student self-assessment outcomes.It analyzes the course assessment scores of 104 students from the 2021 and 2022 cohorts for teacher and peer evaluations,and the questionnaire self-assessment results of 85 students from these cohorts for student evaluations.The findings show that teacher and peer evaluations are consistent with student self-assessments,revealing:(1)higher scores and positive feedback from students on practical sections,highlighting group cooperation,flipped reporting,and project completeness;(2)an annual increase in scores.However,challenges persist:(1)students feel they fall short of achieving course objectives;(2)a perceived lack of instructional support during the learning process;(3)lower scores in theoretical knowledge;(4)a discernible lack of innovation in course projects,with the engineering innovation component receiving notably low evaluations.These findings suggest several issues with the course,including unreasonable teaching goal setting,a weak link between theory and practice,insufficient support during the learning process and a need to improve engineering innovation training.The paper concludes by proposing targeted construction strategies for the next stage,including rationalizing teaching goals,promoting two-way interaction between theory and practice,strengthening"scaffolding"teaching instruction,optimizing problem situations and improving the integrated curriculum system based on a series of progressively challenging design-implement experiences,etc.This study focuses on first-year engineering education,which is generally ignored,advocating for reform in the initial year of college.It proposes the establishment of first-year engineering experience to encourage freshmen to engage in immersive engineering learning.In the process,we scrutinize the existing course structure,identify issues,and suggest targeted improvements.Further exploration is required to optimize the engineering education system,starting from the first year and extending through the entire undergraduate stage,via practical and effective pathways.In conclusion,we underscore the importance of engineering experience to ensure students can understand engineering learning,inspire learning interest and apply their knowledge to solve real-world engineering problems.We anticipate that such reforms could have profound implications for engineering education,better preparing students for their future engineering careers.
introduction to engineeringfreshmenfirst-year engineering experiencedeep learning
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