An engineering skills and design course for sophomores with seniors as mentors

In the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at North Carolina State University, an experimental, elective course was offered to sophomores entering the department in the fall semester of 1994. The course was designed to provide these students with resources that would help them be better prepared for the demands of the ECE curriculum, to give them a better understanding of engineering practice, and to afford an opportunity for fun and excitement in their engineering education. The course responsibilities were shared by ECE faculty and senior students. The seniors taught time management, team building, and communication skills to the sophomores. The faculty and seniors shared responsibility for teaching simple circuit design, circuit building, creativity, and documentation. The faculty presented engineering career options, conceptual design, and prototyping. The participating sophomores gave the course very high ratings. The students´ progress will be evaluated against a control group throughout their academic careers at NC State. The senior instructors were excellent peer role models and provided the sophomores with a perspective beyond that offered by the faculty. The senior mentors also gained a great deal from their teaching experience and used this experience to advantage in job interviews. The course is being taught again in the fall semester of 1995. After that semester we anticipate proposing the course to the curriculum committee for adoption as a required course