Those 1-credit special project courses: motivating your best freshmen

Every school has them, in some form or another. The variable-title, variable-credit course is ubiquitous; but, what do we use them for? Often they become a vehicle for teaching material not yet having a permanent course number. In some cases, professors use them for obtaining inexpensive low-level help for their research, thus providing an undergraduate research opportunity. They are sometimes used to provide a student with an opportunity To overcome a lack of preparation in some area vital to his/her area of study. At Purdue University, the Freshman Engineering Honors Program uses ENGR 195 as a motivational tool. When time and current interests permit the Honors Director offers students the opportunity to participate in special projects that offer experience outside the range of regular coursework available to the student. These projects often enhance the students' resumes as well. During the spring semester of 1994-95, eight students undertook a software design and development project based on an assignment from the Honors Computer Programming class they took the prior semester. These students operated as a software development team, with two groups of four students each taking on a different part of the project. They were supervised by a senior computer engineering student and the Honors Program Director. The project was development of basketball statistics software, and the students were enthused from the start. They were especially excited that they were to complete the development of the software to the point that it could be made available for distribution as a shareware or freeware product, including user manuals and program documentation. The development platform was a realistic (for this problem) 486-based notebook computer. What is needed to provide this type of experience to more students? First, there must exist a problem to be solved, preferably of interest to several students. Second, the means to solve the problem, in terms of hardware, software, and sufficient expertise to begin solving it must be near at hand. Third, there must be an audience, that is, a group of students from which to draw those looking for an additional challenge. Finally, there must be an interested faculty member to serve the students as teacher/mentor in doing the project. Motivation is virtually assured.