Teaching of wave propagation phenomena using Matlab GUIs at the Universidad Politecnica of Valencia

Abstract

The use of interactive graphics and animations is a fundamental tool for teaching electromagnetic concepts, especially for the study of wave propagation, where the propagation properties of waves are hard to understand with oral explanations or simple static chalk drawings on the blackboard. In the classroom, the traditional blackboard, or the more recent use of slides, is increasingly giving way to the use of electronic material for illustrating propagation phenomena. Of the computer tools used to improve electromagnetic teaching, Matlab has been chosen to design several graphical user interfaces (GUI) (see Marchand, P., Graphics and GUls with Matlab, CRC Press, 1999) that allow the creation of wave propagation animations under user specified conditions. These GUIs have been assessed for the teaching of a subject on electromagnetic fields and waves. The main objectives of the subject are the knowledge of the main parameters of plane and guided waves and the understanding of the main propagation phenomena of these two types of waves. All these contents are taught in weekly classes during a term, amounting to a total of 35 hours. The teaching scenario is presented, the GUIs that have been designed are described, and the improvements in learning results obtained by using the GUIs are presented.