Syllabus ENGR 488CO F09
From The Collaboratory
Classroom
- Frey 253 and/or Frey 266
Time
- Thursday at 1:20 - 4:00 PM
Advisor - Harold Underwood
- E-mail address - HUnderw@messiah.edu
- Office Phone - 796-1800 ext. 7125
- Home Phone - 717-697-9709
- Office hours - M 11-12, TW 1-2, R 10:30-12, F 2-3, or by appointment
Group Leader - Nicole Steiner
- E-mail - ns1224@messiah.edu
- Phone - x5286
Contents |
Overview
What is Project 3?
Project 3 is the third of four project courses that are the core of the integrated projects portion of the Bachelor of Science in Engineering program at Messiah College. In this Integrated Projects Curriculum (IPC) you put the knowledge content of other classes to work in creative hands-on problem solving. The IPC brings you and other students together with professors and other advisors to solve real-world problems. Through these projects we also seek to live out our Christian faith as God's stewards over the resources of the engineering discipline. Projects 1-4 provide students with the time, facilities, resources, and supervision to carry out significant work on these real-world problems.
The IPC courses are challenging, but not like other courses. Innovative features include shared project leadership by students and educators, project teams of students from all years of study, and sustained effort between academic semesters to achieve tangible results for clients. The IPC functions in partnership with the Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research, so you gain practical work experience in a real organization. Some students decide to pursue voluntary service and leadership in the Collaboratory in the projects in which they are involved in the IPC and this can contribute significantly to your experience at Messiah. While not all students may choose to do this, the IPC gives every engineering major some practical experience and an opportunity to consider how their work and Christian faith connect.
In Project 3 you will have the opportunity to really start to apply the leadership skills you've been learning in other IPC classes. With the experience gained from Group Orientation, Project 1, Project 2, and the seminar classes, you will begin to take the lead on all the phases of your project, including planning, analysis, design, prototyping, testing, evaluation, and documentation, as you take over the reins from the previous Project 4 students, who have since graduated. Your abilities will be put to the test as you take responsibility for the successful execution of your project. Of course, you are not alone in this endeavor, and your Group Advisor will never be far away if a problem arises. However, Group Advisors also know that ideally they are "working themselves out of a job" as they continue to mentor, coach, and encourage you to increasingly take charge of the project. And, your student colleagues in Project 3 will be sharing the leadership roles, while the other team members taking Group Orientation and Project 1 will be there to assist with the work. As the semester goes along, and particularly as you approach Project 4, these team members will increasingly look to you to provide direction on the project. In short, this class is an opportunity to demonstrate that you have what it takes to lead a team of students making a significant contribution to the work of your Collaboratory Group.
Goals of this class
Students who successfully complete Project 3 will gain practical experience in the following areas:
- Accomplishing the mission, core values, and operating principles of the Department of Engineering.
- Carrying out your Group's mission statement.
- Applying the basic principles of project management.
- Being productive team members.
- Leading a team of engineers toward successful completion of a project.
- Following the established phases of application development.
- Doing research and reviewing the literature relevant to your Group's project.
- Writing and completing SMART goals and task assignments, designing to meet specifications, and producing excellent documentation and project deliverables.
- Using the Collaboratory wiki both as a source of information and repository for documentation.
- Demonstrating proficiency in material and part selection for the project.
- Completing certification requirements for the use of shop and laboratory equipment specific to the work of your project and using that equipment to create high quality products.
- Demonstrate proficiency regarding technical concepts specific to your project.
Policies
- If you are absent due to illness or emergency, please call or leave a message so that your professor can determine if the absence is excused or unexcused. If your professor does not hear from you within 48 hours of the missed class then the absence is unexcused.
- If you miss a quiz and your absence is excused, the professor will probably ask you to take it later. In rare cases you may be excused from the quiz, meaning the quiz will not count for or against your final grade. If your absence on the day of a quiz is unexcused then you have earned a score of zero.
- The professor will accept late work if you have an excused absence and if the lateness of the work does not impact the project schedule (see below). The length of your extension will depend on the assignment and circumstances. You must make arrangements for an extension as soon as possible, preferably prior to the absence.
- Assignments consist primarily of assigned tasks and project deliverables and will have a specific due date. The professor will accept late work up to one full day after the due date with no more than a 10% penalty, and work that is more than a day but not more than a week late for 1/2 credit. The success or failure of your project will depend directly on the timely completion of assigned tasks, and you must realize that other group members are counting on you. The goal of this late-work policy is to encourage you to keep up with the work, while providing some flexibility for the occasional emergency.
- You may complete work that is assigned on a day that you are absent from class, prior to the due date. However, if the work is not completed on time, other Group members may be assigned to finish your task rather than hold up the project, leaving you with no opportunity to make up the assignment. If you have an excused absence the professor will not hold this against you; the class work will not count for or against you on the day of your excused absence. If the absence is unexcused, you have earned a score of zero for class work on that day.
- The standard for all manufactured parts is that they meet specifications, fit and work properly, meet safety standards, and are capable of lasting for the required life of the part. This is especially important with regard to safety; metal parts should have sharp edges removed (unless they are intended to be cutting implements), wires should be insulated and tied off, etc. Check the specifications for required tolerances, coatings, fit and finish, etc.
- The standard for all documentation is professional quality prepared for the level of your peers. Write for persons who know as much but not more about engineering than you do, since what you write about your project will be for the next generation of students!
- Plan on Project 3 taking all the scheduled time. Please do not schedule any other activities during class time or expect to be excused early. Remember, your Group members are counting on you.
Grades
Serving as your assistant in a time of personal growth and development is your professor's motivation for teaching. We are not here primarily to rank you according to ability. Your value as a person is independent of class performance. Whether you excel or struggle, you are an important part of our lives this semester and beyond.
Grades for the course should, however, reflect individual progress as engineering students. A fair and thorough evaluation is important, both to you and to the reputation of the Engineering Program at Messiah College. Since your achievement must eventually be reflected in a grade, we have established a basis for determining grades in this course.
The primary source of graded material for Project 3 will be the portfolio. Students should sit down with their advisors as early in the semester as possible and decide which components of the portfolio are to be completed during Project 3 and which can be left for Project 4. Part of the grade will also be based on a formal presentation made to the class at the end of the semester, completion of project work, and the project logbook, which will be collected and graded several times during the semester. These components are weighted as per the following scale:
- Attendance/Participation (10%)
- Project Work (30%)
- Completion of tasks - 10%
- Quality of work - 10%
- Documentation (drawings, wiki, etc - NOT logbook) - 10%
- Project status presentation (15%)
- Logbook (15%)
- Completeness
- Quality of Content
- Organization
- Neatness
- Portfolio (30%)
- Working portfolio - 20%
- Draft showcase portfolio - 20%
Schedule
Project 3 is a 2.6-hour laboratory class. Learning activities involve working on a specific project within your Group. Because each one of you will have a unique role within each project, your presence and participation are vital to the success of the project! Please make every effort to faithfully attend these classes - others are counting on you.
September 3
Combined session: Introduction (Frey 150)
Group specific work
- Introduction/Review Syllabus
- Review project status
- Review project team leadership
- Assign tasks
September 10
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Portfolio planning meetings
September 17
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Project planning meetings
September 24
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Project plan due
October 1
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- First Logbook check
October 8
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- First working portfolio review
October 15
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
October 22
- MID-FALL RECESS
October 29
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
November 5
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Project plan/status review meetings
November 12
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Second Logbook check
November 19
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
November 24 - Follows Thursday schedule
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Second working portfolio review
December 3
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
December 10
Group specific work
- Review and assign project tasks
- Final logbook check
Final Exam Period
- Combined : Discussion and recommendations for improving this course
- This session will be held during the scheduled final exam time for TR afternoon classes
Group specific work
- Draft showcase portfolio due
- Project status summary due
