Research is presented on the development of student confidence in design through the use of design exercises in a non-design (materials engineering) course. This work revisits a prior study incorporating over three times the number of subjects, substantially expanding the statistical robustness of the analysis. Four distinct design exercises, covering topics like tensile failure, creep, impact, and fatigue, are integrated into the course, each employing structured pre- and post-assessment surveys to gauge confidence levels. Results consistently show significant improvements in student confidence, with post-exercise scores rising by 2 points on a 9 point Likert scale. This work underscores the efficacy of design exercises in bridging engineering science with practical design application of the topical knowledge, with implications for optimizing engineering education strategies.

This study investigates the impact on student confidence of completing in-lecture engineering design activities focused on the application of specific engineering science topics within a materials engineering course. Many times, engineering science courses are taught with the expectation that the course content can be easily translated by students at a later time to apply in engineering design activities. By measuring student self-reported confidence across several related topics before and after completion of the in-lecture design exercises the impact of the exercises on student confidence has been quantified. On average, students have a lower than desired confidence in applying the specific materials engineering topics to a design problem after completing only the course content on the subject. Following completion of the related seventy-five minute design exercise, student confidence increased by a statistically significant degree. These results suggest that close integration of topical content learning with design application activity may be a useful method to improve engineering student confidence and, by extension, retention.