Ac 2007-2494: a Cooperative Learning Model in Multi-disciplines across Universities in Freshmen Courses

Instructors are constantly seeking innovative methods to teach students the engineering concepts in freshmen classes. Freshmen classes are particularly important for student retention, since these classes are the students’ “first impression” of the engineering department or program. Additionally, the freshman classes are where the students are expected to begin learning soft skills besides the fundamental concepts. In this paper, a cooperative learning model and its first implementation are presented. The cooperative learning model and exercises involve multiple freshman groups from two universities, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University Kingsville, encompassing electrical engineering freshmen, engineering technology freshmen and freshmen students representing general engineering. The tasks involved in the cooperative learning project stimulated student interest and engagement in addition to enabling the students to acquire information, knowledge and skills that the instructors outlined in their corresponding project objectives and outcomes. Evaluation was performed by the successful completion of the project, student satisfaction surveys, and the student acknowledgement and awareness of challenges and resolutions along the way. Student deliverables and presentations demonstrate the increased retention of concepts using the developed cooperative learning model.