Enhancing the experience of first-year engineering students with an entry-level STS course: Science-technology-society

Engineering and Society, a course designed for first-year engineering (FYE) students and non-majors, was introduced in spring 2011 and most recently (F2014) became part of the required FYE core curricula. In addition to traditional elements of an FYE course such as the study of engineering disciplines and a team-based design project, students explore the various ways non-technical factors influence the development and integration of technology within our society, aligning with many of the learning outcomes specified by ABET General Criterion 3. Student outcomes were measured with a relatively simple pre-test/post-test study that uses a self-constructed on-line survey. Relative to the control group, students who enrolled in the course showed significantly greater gains in self-confidence, most notably with respect to engineering problem solving and design; sense of fit within the engineering profession; and understanding of the broad nature of engineering, including the importance of creativity, ethics, and societal influences to engineering design and decision making. Changes in academic self-confidence and satisfaction with the decision to study engineering were somewhat mixed, yet students in the course expressed a significant increase in their confidence of remaining in an engineering major throughout college, while students in the control group expressed a slight but not significant decline.