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Development of instructional materials to address student difficulties in introductory electrical engineering
Publikationstyp
Conference Paper
Date Issued
2011
Sprache
English
Start Page
228
End Page
235
Citation
SEFI Annual Conference 2011 : Lisbon 28 September 2011 through 30 September 2011 ; Proceedings. - Seite 228-235 (2011)
Contribution to Conference
Scopus ID
Publisher
European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI)
We report on an ongoing investigation of student understanding of basic concepts in the context of various first-year undergraduate DC and AC circuits courses. Through analysis of student responses to mostly qualitative quiz and examination questions, we have identified prevalent and persistent difficulties with a number of topics. The results from this research were then used to guide the design, implementation, and assessment of active-learning instructional materials that are aimed at strengthening conceptual understanding of circuit quantities and the relationships between them. In this paper, we illustrate this process for topics related to Kirchhoff's laws and the phase relationships between AC signals. We show that the prevalence of common incorrect ideas among students is largely independent of the particular student population and instructor if the teaching format mostly consists of traditional lectures. We then describe the process by which we designed collaborative-group worksheets that aim to address the observed difficulties. Finally, we present data that suggest that the worksheets can be successfully implemented both in small course sections and large lecture settings. In conclusion, we strongly advocate a commitment to discipline-based educational research focusing on specific technical topics as a means to improve introductory engineering education.
Subjects
AC circuits
Conceptual understanding
Engineering education research
Phase relationships
Student difficulties
DDC Class
370: Education