Using the Learning Cycle to Develop Freshmen's Abilities to Design and Conduct Experiments

A series of three laboratory experiments has been developed for first-semester freshmen mechanical engineering students at the University of South Carolina. The topical content of the experiments includes statics, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and direct-current circuit analysis. Each experiment actively involves the students, is inexpensive, safe and can be performed during a 50-minute class period. The experiments have been designed using concepts from Kolb's learning cycle, problem-based learning and scaffolding. The experiment sequence has been successfully used to introduce the students to engineering fundamentals, to develop their abilities to design experiments, and to motivate them to learn computer applications for data analysis.