First year comparative evaluation of the Texas A&M freshman integrated engineering program

The paper documents the first year process and product evaluation of the NSF-sponsored Foundation Coalition (FC) project at Texas A&M University designed to integrate five courses taken by most freshman engineering students: physics, engineering design, calculus, English, and chemistry. In addition to the curriculum integration, the project emphasized cooperative learning, teaming, technology applied to learning, and active learning. One hundred students of the entering freshman engineering students who were calculus-ready were invited on a first-come, first-served basis to participate; all qualified women and minorities who applied were accepted, and others were accepted on a waiting list in order of application. Entry characteristics indicated that the students did not differ from the freshman class. FC student achievement in physics and calculus and attitudes toward coalition engineering goals were assessed both fall and spring. Separate comparison groups were selected fall and spring. Results indicated that the FC group scored almost identically to the comparison group on the initial testing. For the spring testing the FC group outscored the comparison group statistically on the physics and calculus tests, and all scales of the California Critical Thinking Test except Analysis (no difference). Student attitudes improved for the value of homework, lifelong learning, and decreased in their overall evaluation of engineering.