1. “Guided Hands-on Learning” in Electrical Engineering: Computer Simulations and Personal Laboratories Leonid Tsybeskov New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ Keywords: project based learning, circuit simulations, personal laboratories

2. Why? The understanding of a theoretical concept and application of a concept to problem solving and design are serious challenges for many of our students Many students come to the university with very limited, sometimes no, hands-on experience with the basic building blocks of electronic devices and systems Objectives: Use computer simulations and personal laboratories to improve the understanding and applications of electronic devices and circuits 2

3. When?/Where?/What? Approximately three years ago, we introduced the following changes into the sequence of ECE 231-232 (circuits and systems 1 & 2): We required every student to obtain a student version of the Multisim (National Instruments, $40) simulation package. Multisim is a SPICE-based simulation environment focused on practical applications in designing, prototyping, and testing electrical circuits. Also, all students in ECE 231/232 are offered (free of charge) personal laboratory modules from the ECE Department stockroom (National Instruments data acquisition “myDAQ”, $150). The same modules are used in classroom demonstrations and homework assignments. 3

4. When?/Where?/What? Computer simulations: Our students are offered a Multisim tutorial in class and recitation sections in computer laboratories. During lectures instructors regularly use the simulator for demonstrations of circuit operations, and homework assignments include simulation exercises. In higher level courses, students are given assignments that are focused on circuit research and design, and students are pointed toward relevant technical publications to research the topic in-depth. 4

5. When?/Where?/What? Personal laboratories: The personal laboratories are tightly integrated into lecture/recitation/ laboratory course sequences to supplement traditional learning modes. Homework assignments (including pre-lab assignments) also include the use of personal laboratories to perform experiments, the results of which are compared to analytical results, simulations and experimental data obtained in lectures, recitations and laboratory classes. These assignments can be performed at the time and location of the student’s choice. 5

6. Results and Prognosis The recently implemented changes in ECE circuit courses and laboratories has dramatically improved our students’ performance: the ECE 231/232 course sequence failing rate dropped from 25-30% to less than 10%. Similar integration of computer simulations and portable hardware is proposed for several other ECE courses. The implemented “software + hardware” based guided hands-on learning directly exposes our students to the type of technology and products that they will likely encounter after graduation; we have already received positive comments from industry and recruiters. 6