Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vignesh Subbian, University of Cincinnati; Carla C. Purdy, University of Cincinnati; Fred Richard Beyette Jr., University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

single student or group of students. Rather, UnLectures are based onpromoting reflective learning through peer instruction. Studies have shown that reflection of Page 24.1300.2students’ own or others’ experiences results in development of new perspectives or clarificationof concepts and techniques8, 9. It is also evident from these studies that reflective learning hassignificant value in professional practice10. Given that our students have integrated cooperativeeducation into their curriculum, UnLectures provide meaningful ways to reflect on lessons fromboth engineering practice and classroom education.Development of UnLectureThe UnLecture

Conference Session

STEM and ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jose Marcio Luna, University of New Mexico; Timothy L Schroeder, University of New Mexico; Gregory L. Heileman, University of New Mexico; Chaouki T Abdallah, The University of New Mexico ; Jorge Crichigno, Northern New Mexico College; Ivan Lopez Hurtado, Northern New Mexico College; Alfredo J. Perez, Northern New Mexico College

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, instructors of record, SIs and TAs report issuesassociated with the online platform. Tech.Questn: Messages where students, SIs or TAs ask technical questions aboutsolutions of homework, laboratory, quiz or assessments. Undergrd.Advismnt: Messages where students discuss about their future career plansbased on their individual professional interests.B. Assessment of MessagesNext, we describe the parameters used to grade the quality of the communications with the TAs.The grades and their description are given below. Successful: Grade assigned when the communications reflect that the main objective wascarried out as required. Apparently Successful: Grade assigned when the communications reflect that the actionof the TAs and

Conference Session

Assessment of Learning in ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Lu, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

category can be graded by the consistency ofcontents throughout the report. The depth of discussion category closely reflects the integrationof knowledge category so that reports showing good elaborations will have higher scores andreports with many hardware or software specification details will have lower scores.Cohesiveness category can be graded based on how well the report contents flow. The spelling& grammar category can be graded based on common writing basics such as a figure captionshould be under the figure and the table caption should be above the table; figure and tablecaptions and their corresponding figures and tables should be on the same page; and paragraphsshould have adequate lengths.The sources category can be graded based

Conference Session

Flipping ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth A. Connor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Dianna L. Newman, University at Albany/SUNY; Meghan Morris Deyoe, University at Albany, SUNY

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

developing and implementing instruction using a flippedclassroom approach in an Electronics Instrumentation class. Student and faculty perceptions of theapproach from Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 are provided.3. MethodsStudents enrolled in the Electronics Instrumentation class represented primarily undergraduatemechanical or dual aeronautical and mechanical engineering students. The flipped classroomapproach supported multiple learning styles and preference for instruction. The studentdemographics reflected traditional enrollment patterns for engineering programs; in Spring 2013specifically, over three-quarters of students were male (86%), three-quarters (76%) of thestudents were white and 24% represented ethnic minorities. A majority (82%) of the

Conference Session

Flipping ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rafic Bachnak, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg; Sofía Carolina Maldonado, Texas A&M International University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

success efforts have been developed across the country. This paperdocuments the flipped classroom technique incorporated into a pilot electrical engineering courseat Texas A&M International University (TAMIU). The paper also presents feedback results andbriefly discusses future plans.II. Flipping the ClassroomIn a traditional lecture, students often try to capture what is being said at the instant the speakersays it. They cannot stop to reflect upon what is being said, and they may miss significant pointsbecause they are trying to transcribe the instructor’s words [5]. On the other hand, in an invertedclassroom, typical class-lecture time is replaced with laboratory and in-class activities. Outsideclass time, lectures are delivered over

Conference Session

Projects in ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Hoe, The University of Texas at Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

reflect upon their experiences throughout thesemester. The course met formally once per week. The main purpose of the meetings was tomake the students accountable for keeping up with their research, to discuss the journal articlesthat they were assigned, to provide opportunities for presenting their results, and interacting withtheir peers and the faculty supervisor. The following excerpt from the course syllabussummarizes the expectations for this research course: Laboratory notebook. The student will keep a notebook recording all his/her findings. This will be reviewed periodically by the faculty mentor to ensure that the essential data is properly recorded and organized so that it can be used to write the final report and poster

Conference Session

Flipping ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jia-Ling Lin, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Paul Imbertson, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Tamara J. Moore, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

omega slip. We want to control omega M. So… right now omega slip is at 50 and we need to make omega slip much larger, don’t we?”Critiquing / Critically reflecting on “That doesn’t make sense.” EvaluateChallenging interpretations/ reasoning(CR) in which proposals may “I don’t think that those two (IMs and Is) are in be challenged and phase.” counter-challenged. “We don’t need total power. We need power loss.”Conscious Purposeful citations of

Conference Session

Assessment of Learning in ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Youakim Kalaani, Georgia Southern University; Rami Jubrail Haddad, Georgia Southern University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

) Page 24.124.6Assessment ResultsAs stated earlier, the assessment process of student learning outcomes is based on direct andindirect measurements. Table 3 shows the results of indirect measurements, or surveys, as meanaverages on a scale of 5 of the appropriateness of student learning outcomes as perceived byPAC members, EE faculty and EE students. (Note: twenty samples of students’ responses wereused as feedback). Survey results indicated that all outcomes met the target level (3.5), exceptthat outcome ‘i’ is slightly below (3.4) target, reflecting the faculty’s desire to enhance “students’ability to conduct research in the electrical engineering discipline as part of a life-long learning.” Table 3- Appropriateness of Student Outcomes

Conference Session

Innovations in Computer Engineering Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward W. Chandler P.E., Milwaukee School of Engineering; William Barnekow, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

connected to infra-red drivers, andall network-node drivers were aimed at a reflective surface. Each network node also had aninfra-red receiver aimed at the same reflective surface. The infra-red receivers providedelectrical signals as receive-signal inputs to the nodes. Having wireless optical signals made theproject a bit more interesting to some students. However, the network-node implementationswere otherwise the same as they would have been with an electrical bus. It was decided that theadditional complexity and logistical difficulties in setting up the wireless optical networkoutweighed the positive aspects of having implemented a wireless network.Message transmission format: Each transmission for the message-exchange course

Conference Session

New ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lin Zhao, Gannon University; Yuzhe Zhang, Gannon University; Jiawei Zhang, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

ACload and either high current load or low current load, etc. To complete the design and the lab,students will be given the options to combine the solar panel control box (as seen in Figure 5)and the wind energy control box (as seen in Figure 2) to emulate the control logic and strategiesbased on the power input and output of the renewable system. Students are encouraged toincorporate virtual instrument (LabView) into their lab design to either display the readings inreal-time or animate the stored readings. Figure 5. solar energy control box B. Fuel cell labIn the course, the fuel cell was first introduced as an alternative energy resource for electricvehicle. The lab was designed to reflect this idea and to

Conference Session

ECE Program Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hui Zhong, Shandong University/Gannon University; Lin Zhao, Gannon University; Yuzhe Zhang

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

arrangement has also yield competitive job offers for many students.These five practice courses are linked with each other and provide students with experience atdifferent level. Although it means a lot of planning work for the instructor and the department,rewarding results are the drive to keep these courses alive and thrive.IV. Discussion and ConclusionsChinese industries expect engineering graduates to have the current know-how to solveimmediate problems. This expectation is generally reflected in university curricula in whichthere are a tendency to teach as many courses as possible in the core subject. As a result, the totalcredit-hour requirement is considerably higher than that of U.S. universities. One of the results ofsqueezing too

Conference Session

Innovations in Computer Engineering Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill D Carroll P.E., University of Texas, Arlington; Shawn N Gieser, University Of Texas At Arlington; David Levine, University of Texas, Arlington

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

. Page 24.54.9 Students were required to write a project report to document their design, implementation, and test results. The quality of reports was uneven across the class. On reflection, this result is understandable given that, typically, our students have not taken a technical communications course before taking the digital logic course. On the last day of class, students were asked to complete a survey concerning their experiences relative to laboratory exercises and term project. See Table 3 for a summary of the results. The same survey will be given at the end of the current (spring 2014) offering of the course. Generally speaking, the survey results are consistent with the observations of the authors. The

Conference Session

STEM and ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Khosrow Ghadiri, San Jose State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

-managed and Page 24.391.8effective learning unit. The faculty takes great pains to foster this growth and help manage theseteams throughout the semester.The live portion of the class necessitates the utmost faculty preparation and organization. In thefirst ten minutes of the class, a question and answer discussion is held reflecting the materialcovered in e-learning to gauge the level of understanding of the students. Concurrently, theteacher assistants gather e-learning surveys that the students filled out after watching the onlinelectures. The results are quickly compiled identifying common difficulties for the faculty toaddress. A 15-minute

Conference Session

Innovations in Electrical Engineering Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Raviv, Florida Atlantic University; George Jonathan Roskovich, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 24.173.3 With these facts in mind, it is no coincidence that as each year goes by, teachers notice agreater percentage of students having difficulty understanding key concepts from difficultcoursework. With that said, it is not for lack of trying that students are failing to connect betweenwhat they learn and what is expected of them. Studies have shown that 65% of the populationbenefits more from visual learning than any other style 6. As this can serve as a reflection of thechanging world, it is up to educators to adapt to these changes to ensure that students are giventhe highest probability of success. Addressing this growing trend, an approach has been developed to cater to students’increasing demand for teaching techniques

Conference Session

Assessment of Learning in ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohammed Taqiuddin Taher, DeVry University, Addison; Ahmed S. Khan, DeVry University, DuPage

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

pace progress in discovery and understanding of issues.  Facilitating the presentation of ‘dry concepts’ in another way – by integration of theory and practice. The present study focused on the use of simulation as an instructional method to improvestudent learning. Specifically scaffolding and exploration domains of cognitive apprenticeshipwere employed to explore their impact on student learning. Due to limitations of simulationsoftware elements like modeling, coaching, articulation, and reflection were not addressed (SeeTable 2). Also Multisim features do not allow interactivity component thus modulation will notbe directly studied. Since the present study primarily focused on the use of scaffold

Conference Session

New ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Constance D. Hendrix, USAF Academy; Danial J. Neebel PE, US Air Force Academy; Ryan Jay Silva, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

graduates of our institution will be expected to understand basic principles ofthese systems widely used within the defense industry. An example of a basic principle of onesystem: A RADAR user must understand that a pulse is transmitted, a reflection is received andthe distance to the shiny object is derived from the time it took for the echo to return. Alldepartment faculty vetted the topics and principles.The graded work consists of 15 labs, four projects, four exams and 21 homework assignments toprovide practice solving problems. The relatively high amount of graded material paired with alimited amount of classroom time necessitated a unique lesson structure as compared with atypical ECE course. This need is predicated on the assumption that it

Conference Session

STEM and ECE

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kundan Nepal, University of St. Thomas; Andrew Tubesing, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

as well as a thorough review of the curriculum and ways ofeffectively integrating engineering into their existing courses. Teachers are also required to takeone technical elective. These technical electives are typically offered as a part of the "SummerAcademy". In 2013, two electives were offered - one in the area of energy and the other in thefundamentals of the electrical and computer engineering disciplines. This paper presents anoverview of the "Fundamentals of Electrical and Computing Systems" course, the topicscovered, feedback received and some reflections based on the first offering of the course. A totalof seven in-service middle and high school teachers took the course during the first offering ofthe course in summer 2013

Conference Session

Innovations in Electrical Engineering Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ron J. Pieper, University of Texas, Tyler; Wudyalew T. Wondmagegn, Frostburg State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

text showing a instructor message on the board in a classroomtype setting with an audience of two: an antenna engineer and optical engineer. The antennaengineer expresses surprise “Is that all, I can’t believe it” while the optical engineer issupposedly not surprised as he is shown in a “snooze” state. Although the cartoon is probably notintended to be taken too seriously, it does reflect the typical level of emphasis given in these twodisciplines for the use of the Fourier Transform in problem solving. This conclusion is supportedby reference to a sample of four highly respected texts in the areas of electromagnetic fields andantennas5,16,17,18. In three5,16,18 of the four the Fourier approach is not mentioned. In the fourthcase17 it is

Conference Session

Flipping ECE Courses

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Micah Stickel, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

in this figure. The “Other” 90% 15.5% 16.5%reasons included sleeping in, subway delays and 100% 7.7% 13.8%commuting, and having a test on that day. Themajor difference in the “Too much work” Figure 3. Primary Reason for Missing Lecturesresponses could be due to the fact that one ofthe other courses in this term modestly reducedtheir design project requirements from 2012 to2013. However, this is likely only part of thereason given that the change was not as drasticas the data reflects. The fact that 16% of theinverted cohort chose “Too early” is likely dueto the fact that of the three lecture sections, onesection did have a 9 AM class, while for thetraditional