First-year Redesign: LabVIEW, myRIO, EML, and More

Over the past year, faculty at Baylor implemented a new curriculum in a pilot course for first-year engineering students. The curriculum had four main objectives: encourage students to persist in engineering, foster self-motivation and curiosity, develop a fundamental set of knowledge and skills, and see the "big picture" of engineering design. Important characteristics of the new curriculum were the use of a variety of hardware and software tools (including LabVIEW, myRIO, SolidWorks, and a Makerbot 3-D printer), an increased number of hands-on labs and projects, a focus on connecting concepts to other courses (math, science, etc. and later engineering courses), and a multi-part project that involved reverse engineering, 3-D modeling, material and sustainability considerations, redesign for a target customer group, prototyping, and presentation. Part of the motivation for this new curriculum was to promote "entrepreneurially minded learning" (EML), which is to foster a mindset of curiosity, making connections, and creating value. Another motivation was to provide students with the tools they need for acquiring internships after their freshman year. This paper will explain the details of the curriculum, feedback from students, some quantitative data, and lessons learned by the faculty.