Engineering graphics in an integrated environment

This paper focuses on the freshman year of the Foundation Coalition program at Texas A&M University. The curriculum includes chemistry, English, engineering, math and physics taught in an integrated just in time fashion using technology and delivered in an active-collaborative environment to students working in teams of four. Through our thrusts of integration, teaming, active learning and technology we hope to produce engineers who can solve increasingly complex problems more effectively. Graphical analysis, not generally taught or used by engineering students, has provided the best avenue for integration of graphics into the freshman Coalition environment. Graphical analysis techniques introduce CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) to the student in a manner that reaches graphical fundamentals and at the same time is relevant to topics addressed in other course work. Examples include: graphical solutions to vectors are used to introduce the concept of coordinate systems and scale; and traditional topics in descriptive geometry have been replaced with an introduction to 3D model development. Another area where graphics provides a valuable interface is in developing communication skills. Integrated technical reports, produced by student engineering design teams, include technical content (graded by science, mathematics, and engineering faculty) and are submitted to English.