Engineering Problem Solving: Implementing a New Foundational Engineering Course

This study investigates how a new first semester of a new first-year engineering course affected student engineering skills, feelings about engineering, and hesitations to declare an engineering major.Pre-and post-course surveys and interviews were conducted with eighteen students who took Engineering Problem Solving in the fall semester 2023.The course was designed to require significant teamwork among students.The course introduced students to a variety of engineering disciplines through hands-on activities.Additionally, several assignments required the students to view short video interviews with practicing exemplars who came from underrepresented groups in engineering.Results indicate students increased their skills in several engineering tasks, their confidence and sense of belonging in engineering increased slightly, and students had fewer hesitations to declare an engineering major at the conclusion of the course than prior to the course.