Experiences with a new engineering sophomore year

Discusses first-year experiences in the implementation of a new engineering sophomore year at the University of Alabama (UofA). This curriculum development process is a part of the National Science Foundation's Foundation Coalition (FC) program at UofA. To provide background information for the new sophomore year, this paper discusses the philosophy behind the UofA FC effort. This philosophy focuses on improving the classroom culture of engineering education. This is to be accomplished through teaming, course integration and technology-enabled classrooms. With this philosophy as a starting point, the paper discusses new course objectives, the course development process and first-year results. The course development process includes discussion of faculty input procedures, input from other FC campuses and related experiences from the UofA FC freshman year. The paper describes four new courses that resulted from this development process. In conjunction with the FC philosophy, these courses integrate mathematics and engineering and introduce teaming and technology into the classroom. Results from the first year are discussed, including quantitative assessment, student journal comments, instructor impressions and departmental reactions. Particular attention is paid to how the classroom is affected by team assignments and in-class computer use. Concluding comments include pros and cons of the new sophomore year and plans for its refinement in the coming years.