Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, Special Issue No. 1, November 2019, Volume No.

33, eISSN 2394-1707

Experience of Engineering Exploration Course in Audit

Mode for Second Year
Arati Phadke 1, Sangeeta Kulkarni 2
1
Department of Electronics Engineering, K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai.
2
Department of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering, K J Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai.
1
aratiphadke@somaiya.edu
2
sangeetakulkarni@somaiya.edu

Abstract: Project based learning (PBL) is recommended to workers to think critically, solve problems, innovate,
address the needs of millennial learners. It is a student- collaborate and communicate more effectively[2]
centred methodology that promotes development of the 4C - Project based learning (PBL) is recommended to address the
Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration and needs of millennial learners by many researchers. Important
Creativity. Engineering students need to develop these skills characteristics of PBL like (i) resolution of a problem
right from the first year. While designing the curriculum of (proposed by the students themselves preferably); (ii)
FYBTech in our autonomous college the concept of active initiative to solve the problem from the students (iii)
learning is introduced through ‘Environmental studies’ and integration of a range of educational activities; (iv) delivery
‘Industrial Applications’ with a focus on communication, of a final product, coherent with the initial problem; help
collaboration and creativity. students gain the Four C skill set.
During the curriculum design process, we came across the In the implementation of PBL changing the role of the
‘Engineering Exploration’ course for First year developed instructor from an authoritarian position to a consultant
by KLE Tech, Hubbali. Considering courses added in first position is also required [3]
year, it was thought that learning through activities and Hence a transformation in teaching and learning approaches
developing application based on need is best suited for Sem is essential to prepare students to solve complex problems in
III students. Also it was decided to introduce the course in a global world. In order for students to practice as engineers,
choice based audit format. they need to have exposure to a number of projects that offer
From July 2018 Engineering Exploration course was real-world problems, along with the complexity and
introduced with activity based learning and project uncertainty of factors that influence such problems. Students
development cycle. Our experience of offering such course need to learn how to frame a problem,identify stakeholders
in audit mode for second year students is narrated in this and their requirements, design and select concepts, test them,
paper. and so on.[5]
Since the duration of audit course was limited, students Colleges and universities are finding it challenging to fit
could demonstrate design and partial working of the project projects into a curriculum along with ever changing
which we tried converting to internships. Students of first technological advances in a timely manner.
batch indicated that they appreciate activity based learning This paper discusses the process and experience of
and understand the importance of development cycle of a introducing PBL course in the curriculum of an autonomous
project. Completion of this course motivated them to self-financed college affiliated to University of Mumbai.
participate in project competitions like e-Yantra Robotic The designed course is implemented in audit mode for two
competition, Robocon etc. batches of second year students. Section II discusses the
Keywords: project based learning, freshman course motivation to add such a course in the curriculum. Section
III describes the steps followed for Implementation of the
1. Introduction same. Section IV presents the observations from the course,
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry4.0, will put some followed by students’ responses and discussion and
challenges to the new engineers. It is envisioned that the way learnings in Section V.
work will be organized in the future will enable the release 2. Motivation
of workers doing routine tasks, appealing to their skills for While designing the curriculum in our autonomous college
more creative and value-added activities. Additionally, they the concept of active learning is introduced right in first year
will be called to develop more complex products and through courses named ‘Environmental studies’ and
systems and to manage them efficiently through new ‘Industrial Applications’. While undergoing Environmental
methods, tools and technologies.The skills to deal with the studies course, students work on projects focusing on
fast pace of change in businesses are beyond environmental needs. In the course Industrial applications
the traditional “Three Rs” of reading, writing and arithmetic students are introduced to applications in different thrust
to a new set of skills, the “Four Cs”: Critical thinking,
Communication, Collaboration and Creativity, to enable
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 Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, Special Issue No. 1, November 2019, Volume No.33, eISSN 2394-1707

areas of specific branch through interaction with industry ● Mechanisms - 7 hours

experts and industrial visit. ● Platform based Development and Sensors -10 hours
A team of faculty members came across a course in KLE ● Project Management and Engineering Ethics -7 hours
Tech University , Hubbali on Engineering Exploration.The All the modules are planned along with hands on activities.
faculty development programme on Engineering The continuous assessment of students is planned based on
Exploration course gave an insight on implementation of project reviews at various stages as mentioned below.
project based learning. The features of the course developed Review 1 : Problem statement : Student’s work on given
for freshmen at KLE Tech are need in a team to understand objectives , constraints and
● Identification of need and connecting it to technology functions and detailed problem statement. (20 marks)
● Development of Project while learning new concepts. Review 2 : Concept generation and Product architecture :
● A dedicated well equipped laboratory for students to Team work on defined problem statement and design
work on projects alternatives to choose the best one. Development of
● Course taught by four faculty from different branches architecture based on the concept chosen (20 marks)
(Special arrangement with Studio class room, four Review 3 : Prototype: Teamwork for developed prototype
white board with LCD projector etc) with its functionality tested and demonstration of the product
Though course is suggested to be introduced in the first year (40 marks)
of engineering by KLE Tech , it is implemented for second Report Writing (20 marks): Document submission in the
year students in our college with following considerations. form of report with all details.
● All students have learnt the same courses during their
4. Implementation
first year and are getting oriented to different branches
After preparations for activities and projects for a limited
from second year.
number of students,Engineering Exploration course was
● Courses added in first year are preparing them for
introduced as a choice based audit course, open to students
learning through activities and application areas for the
of second year of all branches from July 2018. The course
branch. Hence developing application based on need is
is one amongst approximately thirty other audit courses
best suited for second year students.
encompassing areas like accountancy, foreign languages,
● College administration decided to introduce such a
programming skills etc. to name a few. Audit courses are
course on a trial basis to understand students
mandatory non credit courses. Since the nature of the course
willingness in Metropolitan circumstances where a
is different from other audit courses, an awareness note
good number of students has an exposure to project
explaining its features was sent to all students prior to
based learning during their school days .
registration for the audit course.
● Students should be willing to take up project and hence
The course was opted by 40 students (majorly from
it was decided to introduce the course in choice based
Mechanical, Electronics and Telecommunication
audit format.
Engineering).
3. Curriculum Design All the sessions were co taught by four faculty members
Since the decision was to implement it as audit course, it from different branches of engineering.
was necessary to redesign the course in format of audit Each session was interspersed with small activities and
course of our college. Typically Audit courses are of 22 reflection spots for students and students were encouraged
hours per semester (2 hours per week). However to for communication and critical thinking.
implement project based learning it was decided to allot 3 The content delivery was supported by activities such as
hours per week catapult for understanding importance of engineering design
The course is designed with guidelines from KLE Tech with process, card game for the importance of teamwork. Module
modifications with regards to number of contact hours per of mechanism was majorly taught through activities based
week, depth of coverage of various modules , nature of on gears, pulley, conveyer belt, and simulations using
reviews of activities and project etc. Hence the outcomes of ‘Linkage’ software.Students explored arduino as a platform
the course are defined as for controller with a variety of activities with the use of
CO1. Analyse a real world situation to convert it into different sensors, zigbee modules, motors etc. Additionally
engineering design statement demonstration and practice on pneumatic and hydraulic
CO2. Adopt multidisciplinary approach in solving the circuits was introduced with the intention of exposing them
design statement. with real world large applications.
CO3. Use the engineering design process to build a product Interdisciplinary teams were formed with four students in
using simple mechanisms, controllers, sensors , actuators each team for implementation of project. Following project
etc. need statements were given at the very beginning of the
CO4. Execute the project ethically in the project course.
management paradigm. 1. A robot manufacturing industry is interested in making
The modules are planned as follows a self balancing two wheeled robot which can serve a
● Introduction to Engineering and Engineering Study - 2 cup of tea
hours
2. Manual Gutter cleaning is a task which is very
● Engineering Design - 7 hours
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 Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, Special Issue No. 1, November 2019, Volume No.33, eISSN 2394-1707

inhuman. Automatic cleaning of gutters/ drains is

desired.
3. Manual cleaning of blackboard exposes teacher to
chalk dust which is harmful. Automatic cleaner for
blackboard / whiteboard is desired.
4. Automatic breaking and scrapping of coconuts is
useful for large scale coconut product manufacturers.
A machine is to be designed for this purpose.
5. Corn thresher which threshes seeds automatically is
required.for reducing manual labour of farmers.
In addition ideas suggested by students were also discussed
and the need statements were finalized for all teams. Fig 3 Students engaged in activity of conveyor belt
Ideas such as portable floor vacuum cleaner , Coin sorter and
counting machine were some ideas suggested and developed 5. Observations
by students. During the semester students were keen on the activities and
For manufacturing parts in the project, students were were enjoying the new way of learning. During activities on
exposed to 3D modelling software and 3D printing. Progress mechanisms and platform based experimentation it was
of the project was reviewed for problem statement, design observed that the students are sharing knowledge and
methodology and final demonstration. learning from peers.
Following figures are glimpses of activities and projects by In the review of Prototype developed ( review 3) it was
students. observed that many of the groups could just show the proof
of concept or partial working of the project. They expressed
the paucity of time and pressure of end semester
examinations are the reasons for not completing the
prototype. They also expressed their willingness to work on
their projects during vacations, hence it was decided to allow
them work in vacation as intern on their projects with faculty
mentors.

Fig1 Different catapult Designs

Fig 4 Coin Sorter and Counting Machine project

At the end of the course a feedback questionnaire was
Fig 2 Students experimenting with pneumatic circuits
circulated in the form of Google form. Student’s perspective
of the course was gathered through the responses.
The questions included points such as
● Usefulness of course for self learning skills and critical
thinking
● Importance of communication skills ( oral and written)
● Working in team
● Innovation / creativity in prototype building

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 Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, Special Issue No. 1, November 2019, Volume No.33, eISSN 2394-1707

The chart in figure 6 shows the opinion of students on these ● If the need statement is initiated by students, their
aspects. Also around 76% of students felt that this course enthusiasm for completion of the project is more.
facilitated integration and participation in outside Hence they should be motivated to choose project on
competitions like e-Yantra Robotic competition, Robocon their own.
etc. ● Students find it very difficult to spend more time on
non credit course especially when they have to devote
time for development of prototype towards the end of
the semester.Interested students could devote their time
during vacations on these projects. Students can earn
internship credits by completing the project.
● The experience of co-teaching was introduced first
time and teachers feel that more interactions among
faculty members of various disciplines can enhance
this type of course delivery. Faculty members have
realised the impact of activity based learning and co-
teaching due to this course. Training for PBL based
courses will help in improving the project reviews.
Fig 5 Feedback of Students
From this experience we feel that such a course should be
Sample expressions by the students about the course are as
offered as choice based credit course in second year, which
● The subjects in our education system are only
will motivate students for Project Based Learning.
theoretical, practical things are not high, so students
and teachers have to focus only on marks not their Acknowledgement
technical skills because marks give better degrees and We would like to thank Dr Ramesh Lekurwale, Dr
can be a better job but not creativity. But if colleges, Ankita Modi, Sagar Korde, Swapnil Pawar, Abhijeet
schools and universities make this type of more courses Karmarkar and Akshata Prabhuwho were also involved in
(EE) compulsory and give marks on the basis of these conduction of this course. We are also thankful to laboratory
subjects then most of the students can be creative and support staff who helped in laboratory activities during
innovative. course conduction and prototype development. We are
● Provide some extra credits on completion of project grateful to our principal Dr. Shubha Pandit, and vice
that will boost them to put in more effort. Provide principal Dr N R Gilke for continuous encouragement and
additional help to carry that project forward after suggestions.
course as well.
● Good course for understanding the life cycle of a References
1. Rush, Monica, Newman, Dava, Wallace, David
project.
(2007) Project-Based Learning in First Year Engineering
● It was a wonderful course to start off with to form a
Curricula: Course Development and Student Experiences
foundation in robotics. More such audit courses and
in Two New Classes at MIT, International Conference on
activities should be organised and encouraged.
Engineering Education – ICEE 2007
● The in class project discussions with group members
and faculty were very helpful for development of ideas 2. Anabela C. Alves, Celina P. Leão, Francisco
Moreira and Senhorinha Teixeira, (2017), Open access
and concepts for the project; and this aspect must be
peer-reviewed chapter on Project-Based Learning and its
retained in future semesters of this course as well. In
Effects on Freshmen Social Skills in an Engineering
my view, it would be beneficial to introduce this course
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DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.223816
6. Discussion and Future Scope 4. Javeed Kittur, Sanjeev M. Kavale, (2016),
Based on our experience in teaching this course in year Teaching Decision Making Method in Engineering
2018-19, we observed that Exploration Course – An Experience , Special Issue of
● Participation of students from computer engineering National Conference NCIEME 2016 Organised by
and Information Technology branch is negligibly Rajarambapu Institute of Technology and Walchand
small. These students apparently prefer software College, Sangli ISSN 2394 - 1707
development courses than developing projects which 5. Aruna Shekar, Massey University, Project-based
are electromechanical in nature. Some needs with a Learning in Engineering Design Education: Sharing Best
focus on development of Mobile App or Computer Practices,2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition,
Application may attract these students. Indianapolis, Indiana",2014-06-15
https://peer.asee.org/22949,

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