An electronics Threshold-Concept Inventory: Assessment in the face of the dependency of concepts

The Theory of Threshold Concepts (TCs), first articulated by Land and Meyer in 2003, provides educators in many disciplines with a tool to identify those special ideas that both define the characteristic ways of thinking of expert practitioners, and cause the greatest learning difficulties for students. Concept inventories are popular assessment tools, epitomized by the widely-accepted Force Concept Inventory of Hestenes et al., introduced circa 1992. It is a natural marriage to bring these two thrusts together to produce “Threshold-Concept Inventories”. We report ongoing work to develop and verify such a TC-inspired inventory assessment tool in the field of electronics and simple circuit theory. We identify the difficulty in the development of questions targeted at assessing understanding of single threshold concepts and present results in support of a strategy to deal with this

Identification of threshold concepts involved in early electronics: Some new methods and results

This manuscript reports the threshold concepts identified over a two-year study in early circuits and electronics courses. Some novel methods have been used to improve confidence in the identification process. We also identify some concepts, potentially threshold, that ought to have been mastered in high-school physics courses but that are often absent from student repertoires. Weak understanding of these underlying concepts may be a confusing factor for researchers in their search for threshold concepts as well as an additional source of trouble for students of electronics

Towards a TCT-inspired electronics concept inventory

This study reports on the initial work on the use of Threshold Concept Theory (TCT) to develop a threshold-concept inventory – a catalogue of the important concepts that underlie electronics and electrical engineering (EE) – and an assessment tool – to investigate the depth of student understanding of threshold and related concepts, independent of students’ numerical ability and knowledge mimicry in the first-year course in electrical engineering. This is both challenging and important for several reasons: there is a known issue with student retention (Tsividis, 1998; 2009); the discipline is relatively hard for students because it concerns invisible phenomena; and finally it is one that demands deep understanding from the very start (Scott, Harlow, Peter, and Cowie, 2010). Although the focus of this research was on electronic circuits, findings regarding teaching and learning of threshold concepts (TCs) will inform lecturers in three other disciplines who are part of our project on threshold concepts

Important problem features for the promotion of onceptual understanding in introductory electronics

This article describes an investigation in which a set of problems, specifically designed to develop conceptual understanding in introductory Electronics, were used as a teaching and learning strategy in an active learning setting. Some of the suggested problems have similarities with those presented by concept inventories, in that they are designed to address common students’ misconceptions. The goal, however, is not to detect misconceptions, but rather to challenge students’ conceptual reasoning. The investigation setting, integrated in the project-based learning environment established at the Higher Education Polytechnic School of Águeda (University of Aveiro, Portugal) since 2001, was designed as a source of abundant data, that included field notes, students written responses to the open problems and interviews. Qualitative analysis was used to identify important problem features that seem to prompt conceptual reasoning, and to evaluate the approach. Although the setting and the learning environment are described in some detail, to set the scene and provide context for the issues being discussed, this article concentrates on the problems and their important features in the promotion of conceptual understanding. Examples of the various formats of problems used in the investigation are provided to better illustrate the discussion. Results of the analysis indicate that the use of such problems does seem to have a positive impact in the conceptual reasoning of the students. However, students also report a generalized feeling of insecurity, for every new problem presented an emotional challenge, as well as a challenge to their assumptions. The analysis also indicates that it is important to seek a proper balance between the qualitative and quantitative components of the problems suggested to the students. As a conclusion, the article will offer a summary of the most important problem features in the promotion of conceptual understanding, as far as the results of this investigation are concerned

A qualitative study of problematic reasonings of undergraduate electrical engineering students in Continuous Time Signals and Systems courses

Continuous Time Signals and Systems is a core course in the undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum. The topics covered in this course are difficult to learn conceptually because a significant number of topics are abstract, disconnected from a student\u27s daily life, and make extensive use of mathematical modeling and formulas. Engineering educators have put in significant effort to design effective educational strategies for this course; however, there remained a gap in qualitative understanding of students\u27 reasonings associated with difficulties in conceptual learning of the course content. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying problematic reasonings of undergraduate electrical engineering students when they engage with the course content. In addition, this study aims to identify and assess the differences in the problematic reasonings employed by students of different academic statuses (students who have only taken Continuous Time Signals and Systems course and students who have taken subsequent courses). Looking at the differences in the problematic reasonings used by the students of different academic statuses enables an understanding of the persistent difficulties in learning the course content.^ This study used a constructivist framework and started with the design and validation of a sixty-minute semi-structured interview protocol. The protocol is designed based on the difficult topics in this course identified through literature and content experts of Continuous Time Signals and Systems courses. Once the protocol was tested, nineteen undergraduate electrical engineering students from a teaching-intensive Midwestern university were interviewed for this study. The participants were required to have passed this course already. Of the nineteen participants, eight (CTSS-only group) have only taken Continuous Time Signals and Systems course and eleven (CTSS-plus group) have taken subsequent (up to 4) courses. Each student was interviewed individually. Data collected from think-aloud interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. ^ Results revealed that the reasonings used by the participants that are potentially problematic in conceptual learning of Continuous Time Signals and Systems course content are related to content areas of Signal Representations and Operations, Frequency Analysis, and System Analysis. The identified reasonings can be further classified under three main learning challenges, namely i) accommodation; ii) translation of a signal to its multiple representations in one domain; and iii) translation of a signal to its multiple representations between domains (time and frequency). The robust problematic reasonings are the ones exhibited equally by all nineteen students in translating a signal to its multiple representations between domains (time and frequency). ^ The results of this study can provide a broader impact on future work across many subfields within engineering including electrical, computer, mechanical, biomedical, aeronautics, and astronautics. This study will benefit both engineering curriculum developers to design curriculum that efficiently help students develop a conceptual understanding of courses like Continuous Time Signals and Systems and instructors of Continuous Time Signals and Systems courses to develop successful educational strategies for this course. Additionally, the design of this study can be used as an example for future work in understanding problematic concepts within engineering education

Using reflective writing and textual explanations to evaluate students' conceptual knowledge

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT - Writing is one method used to prompt students to reflect on their own thought processes. Eliciting students’ explanations in the form of text, or writing, also provides lecturers with information about students’ thinking (Goncher, Boles, Jayalath, 2014; Boles, Goncher, Jayalath, 2015). Often in engineering courses, students adopt algorithmic problem-solving approaches without demonstrating conceptual reasoning. Adding a written, or explanatory component, to problems or questions is one approach that can elicit conceptual reasoning. PURPOSE OR GOAL - The purpose of this study was to identify and compare affordances of using students’ written explanations based the type of problem and response. This comparative study sought to answer two research questions, 1) How were the students’ textual answers different for the type of problem and requested explanations? and 2) What does the type and organization of the text of students’ explanations reveal about their conceptual knowledge? APPROACH - We analyzed students’ explanations for procedurally based problems in the statics discipline and conceptually based problems in the signal processing discipline. The first method used “process problems” that required students to explain, using only words, the process that they used to solve a statics homework problem. The second method utilized the Signals and Systems Concept Inventory items, and required students to provide a written explanation for their multiple-choice selection to each item. We categorized responses by the type of problem and structure of the written explanations to evaluate conceptual knowledge. DISCUSSION - We found that the structure of the text and type of problem provided different insights into students’ reasoning. The results showed that students approach learning in statics with varying emphasis placed on procedural and conceptual knowledge, and some students had difficulties explaining underlying concepts in signal processing and reverted to procedural explanations. Regardless of the type of problem, students that are able to get feedback on their thought processes can use the feedback to formatively evaluate their own understanding. RECOMMENDATIONS/IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION - Educators who incorporate or require students to reflect on their thinking through textual explanations can promote the revision of incorrect and/or inconsistent knowledge, leading to improved conceptual knowledge development. Assignments or activities that include more incidental writing will engage students in more freethinking and reflection (Essig et al., 2014;Hawkins, Coney, & Bystrom, 1996), and can lead to a richer understanding of technical concepts

A concept of a mainly digitalized course on control theory including problembased practical units and digital supported exams

This paper decribes the concept of a course on control theory as a minor subject in the department of electrical engineering at the OTH Regensburg. The basis for a new concept is the idea of contructive alignment. The whole teaching module is devided in two blocks. The first block contains the teaching of the knowledge about control theory with an integrated approach for lectures, exercises and practical sessions. In the second block the students attent a practical work package to have the possibility to applicate and deepen their knowledge. To foster active participation the students are asked to document and reflect their work with the course context in an electronic portfolio. The exam of this module consists of three parts with respect to the different competencies obtained during the module. This concept develops not only the knowledge on control theory but personal and social competencies which are of growing interest. The aim of the paper is to present the idea of the concept. Following papers will illustrate the development process and the results obtained later on.Rösel, B. (2020). A concept of a mainly digitalized course on control theory including problembased practical units and digital supported exams. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):587-594. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11112OCS58759430-05-202

Active Analog Circuit Design: Laboratory Project and Assessment

It is very important that undergraduate teaching of analog circuits be rigorous, involve a laboratory component and stimulate student interest. This paper describes a three week module on active circuits that incorporates circuit design, analysis and testing. The lectures are integrated with the laboratory component and all appropriate concepts in mathematics are covered. Assessment results are based on running the project at three universities, namely, Rowan, Bucknell and Tennessee State. Quantitative results based on student surveys, a concept inventory test and faculty formulated rubrics demonstrate the accomplishment of the learning outcomes

Configuration and Assessment of a Senior Level Course in Biometric Systems

It is very important that modern topics be covered at the senior undergraduate level in order that students benefit from (1) advanced STEM concepts, (2) project based learning, (3) a systems level perspective and (4) real world applications. This will help students that proceed to graduate school and who take up employment in government or industry. This paper describes a senior level undergraduate course in biometrics, a multidisciplinary area that is highly relevant to society and which has a rapidly growing global market. The course objectives, broad learning outcomes and curricular plan are described. Assessment results based on the analysis of a concept inventory test and student surveys (target versus control group) related to the learning outcomes show that the course was very successful

Un nuevo enfoque de señales y sistemas dinámicos

This document based on the concept of Dynamic Systems presents a compilation of singular signals and their applications for Control and Identification. The following paper moves away from the usual presentation of the topic -strictly mathematical- to bring it closer to the Systems Dynamics approach, which implies showing the signals importance in the development of operational character with the direct and inverse Laplace transform and the transfer functions calculation, as well as in the solution of models established by Ordinary Differential Equations with constant coefficients, particularly in first and second order Dynamic Systems stimuli-response that appear in Identification processes.Este documento a partir del concepto de Sistemas Dinámicos presenta una recopilación de las señales singulares y sus aplicaciones para el Control e Identificación. El presente artículo se aleja de la presentación usual del tema –estrictamente matemático- para acercarlo al enfoque de la Dinámica de Sistemas que implica mostrar la importancia de las señales en el desarrollo de carácter operativo con la transformada de Laplace directa e inversa y el cálculo de funciones de transferencia, así como en la solución de modelos establecidos por Ecuaciones Diferenciales Ordinarias con coeficientes constantes, particularmente en estímulo-respuesta de Sistemas Dinámicos de primer y segundo orden que aparecen en procesos de Identificación