Enhancing Course Objectives for a Sophomore Electronic Devices Class via Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Model and Attached Projects

Abstract

This Full Innovative Practice paper presents a new Peer-Led team Learning (PLTL) recitation model for the sophomore Electronics Analysis and Design course, emphasizing device physics, device models, and analog and digital applications in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IUPUI. This new PLTL model with small number of students assigned to one peer-leader has enabled students to cooperate with each other and build teamwork, to get more practice with course software, and to better understand the course design component. This new model has overall improved the students' performance in the course. The new model has also enabled the instructor to introduce students to some research topics which led to students being encouraged to enroll in higher level related courses and to pursue further research in these areas. This paper details the structure of this new model, the feedback from students, the PLTL model recitation guidelines for the course semester, and attached projects. The paper also assesses the course objectives using this new model as compared to previous offerings.