Kautz, ChristianChristianKautz2023-12-142023-12-142011SEFI Annual Conference 2011 : Lisbon 28 September 2011 through 30 September 2011 ; Proceedings. - Seite 228-235 (2011)https://hdl.handle.net/11420/44634We 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.enAC circuitsConceptual understandingEngineering education researchPhase relationshipsStudent difficultiesEducationConference PaperConference Paper