Testing the Water in ENGR 1302
Testing the Water in ENGR 1302
Sid Alvis
The course is an immersive project-oriented course where students explore real-world engineering problems, develop methodologies for solving problems logically and with computational tools, and validate solutions, including an introduction to Python programming.
Course Structure and Student Decision Support
The course includes problem analysis to determine what needs to be solved, what processes may be needed to solve the problem, development of a process flow, and then solving the problem. Problems will be combinations of math problem sets and Python programming.
The course is intended to also provide students with problems and projects that reflect activities performed by the different engineering and engineering technology majors for them to make a better decision for which field of study they will declare by the end of the second semester.
AI in Course Development
In developing the course, we have applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) in several methods. First, after developing the semester course topics in a target order by class day, our Center for Teaching & Learning Instructional Designer and Technologist used AI to develop a course lesson plan for each class day, and then a series of slides for the associated lesson plan. This process provides the new course developers and instructors a visual, hands-on starting point to assess the amount and student level of content to be appropriate for first year students. Based on this content, specific pre-class readings, course assignments, and assessments can be developed.
Exploring AI Grading
We are also looking at opportunities for AI grading as well. With assessment of programming code, we will explore how AI can reduce grading time, and possibly reduce the need for a large number of teaching assistants. Being able to implement AI grading in specific instances will be important due to the large class sizes (70 to 80 students per section).
AI as a Problem-Solving Tool for Students
As part of the course instruction, students will be challenged to specifically apply AI to certain problems using multiple AI platforms to determine differences in outcomes, and what considerations must be included in developing the solution.
As part of the exercises, students will be directed to modify AI questions and input to determine the effect on the outcomes, even with minor changes. The intent will be to have students think more carefully about the intent and specifics of the question / input to optimize the ultimate result.
Developing a Questioning Mindset
In this process, students will also be challenged to determine if the AI results actually make sense as a potential solution for the given problem, and must describe why or why not. The conclusion may require further iterations of input to drive a better result. The intent is to create a questioning mindset when the student is using AI, and to reflect how AI may and may not be appropriate in a specific problem-solving process.
Ethics, Legal Concerns, and Citations
Finally, students will be exposed to ethical and legal ramifications when using AI. Students need to understand potential copyright and other corporate legal issues. Students also need to be aware how to cite the use of artificial intelligence when working on assignments and projects to properly comply with University guidance and the course syllabus.
A Course Shaped by AI and Reflection
With all of these integrations of AI into this course, we will be testing the waters as to where AI can take us in course refinements and the potential applications for modifying and developing future courses. With a little luck and persistence, we may even be able to make rapid adjustments using AI during the initial semester (if needed, of course) to continuously improve as we go.