newpedagogy.doc-ECE-UniversityofMaryland.docVIP

A NEW PEDAGOGY IN ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING: AN EXPERIENTIAL AND CONCEPTUAL APPROACH Zeynep Dilli, Neil Goldsman, Janet A. Schmidt, Lee Harper and Steven I. Marcus Abstract ( This paper reports on an experimental program for educating high-school and beginning-college students in ubiquitous areas within Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). The unique aspect of this program is that it teaches advanced engineering topics using concepts and relevant experience rather than high-level mathematics, thus making many subjects normally reserved for the sophomore and junior year ECE curricula accessible to high school and beginning-college students. The course has lecture and laboratory components, with topics selected and experiments designed to demonstrate their real-life relevance. Students in the pilot program succeeded in their laboratory work, and approximately 50% demonstrated high proficiency on college-level exam problems. Student evaluations of the program reflected a high level of satisfaction. Index Terms ( electrical and computer engineering education, electronics, laboratory, retention. Introduction Technology permeates virtually all aspects of modern society. With the current rate of advance in applied science, and the previously unmatched level of our dependence on its products, it is helpful that every student achieve a basic level of understanding and appreciation of technology. In the course of training students in basic skills, it has thus become important to teach the fundamentals of electronics and computer structures at the onset of the 21st century, just as it has been with chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics in the latter half of the 20th century [1]. In addition, as with any field, Electrical and Computer Engineering is always in need of qualified students to become the next generation of engineers. Early exposure to the concepts of engineering is an effective method of drawing in prospective students. To help satisfy