Engage and educate: Engineering laboratory activities for first-year engineering students

This paper discusses the importance and effectiveness of structured hands-on STEM-related project-based engineering laboratory activities in the critical entry-level course, First-Year Seminar in Engineering, for undergraduate engineering majors at ABET-accredited institutions of higher education. At our institution, the First-Year Seminar in Engineering is offered once each year during the fall term. The enrollment in this course ranges from ninety to hundred first-year students who are expected to graduate with engineering degrees from the four-year ABET-accredited programs. One component of this course comprises hands-on engineering laboratory activities in sessions of short duration (fifty-five minutes apiece) in disciplines such as Biomedical Engineering (BME), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Environmental Engineering (ENV), and Mechanical Engineering (ME). In the short interval of time allotted for STEM-based laboratory experiences, the motivation, commitment, and level of engagement can range from total indifference to unbridled enthusiasm with the desire to do and learn more. The broad goal is to deliver key aspects of the engineering design process, from concept-to-product (the E in STEM), during this short interval of time. Therefore, it behooves us to develop STEM-based, project-oriented laboratory activities that focus the student on well-defined, easy-to-attain, yet insightful experimental objectives.