Non-electrical Engineering Students Research Articles

Teaching electronics to first-year non-electrical engineering students

Teaching electronics is not only for electrical and electronics students but also for mechanical, aerospace, engineering design, civil and engineering mathematics programmes, which are likely to have electronics units as part of their curriculum. To teach electronics for these non-electronic programmes is very challenging in many aspects. First, the electronics unit has to satisfy the learning outcomes for each programme. Second, the student’s motivation is normally very low since electronics is not the career the students would like to pursue. Third, the timetabling can be an issue when a large number of students are enrolled; for instance, at the University of Bristol, over 340 students are registered for the electronics unit. Due to this large number and the capacity of the electrical laboratory, students will have laboratory experiments timetabled in different weeks and some may have laboratory experiments before the lectures are covered. Finally, a method of assessing this large number of students has to be put into place. In this paper, the content of the unit including the laboratory experiments, the methods of course delivery and the assessment methods are justified. Also, since students learn differently and have a variety of motivations, a combination of teaching methods has to be found to satisfy more students and improve the learning outcomes.

Experiment Teaching Innovation of the Course Computer Hardware Fundamentals

The course Computer Hardware Fundamentals to non-electrical engineering students aims to teach the basic principles and applications of microcomputers so that the students could use computers to solve practical problems in professional or related fields. The teachers have to face the fact that the current experiment teaching cannot meet the demand of students because of less class hour. Based on the analysis of a questionnaire which focuses on the students’ expectation of the experiments as well as the problems existing in the current experiments, a new general elective experimental course “Computer hardware Technology Fundamental Application Experiments” is put forward, and some innovative experiment teaching content and methods are introduced in this paper.

The Use of Enhanced Guided Notes in an Electric Circuit Class: An Exploratory Study

This study was conducted to evaluate students' ( <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</i> =70) learning performance after their participation in lectures using enhanced guided notes (EGN) in an electric circuits course for non-electrical engineering students. Unlike traditional guided notes, EGN include questions that prompt students to evaluate their metacognitive knowledge. The results of the study demonstrate a significant increase in student learning performance with the application of EGN, as measured by an AC/DC Circuit Concept Inventory. Students reacted positively to the use of the EGN in a survey given to assess their learning experience.

Instrumentation and measurement course for nonelectrical engineering students

There is a need for high quality and quantity of education that gives due consideration to the rapid changes in technology. Instrumentation and measurement provide an introduction to multiple engineering disciplines. It was observed from students' exit questionnaires that their interest and satisfaction with this core course increased with more laboratory work, more problem-solving skills, and less analysis and theory. The course coordinator tried to maintain the four program educational objectives by introducing modern techniques to stimulate their interest in the course. The EE department opened the instrumentation and control laboratory door to students performing experiments without close instructor guidance to encourage self-learning. If some student does not understand the observed and obtained results, he/she may call for an instructor's help. Later, the student analyzed, interpreted, and gave sound comments and justifications in a report. Each semester recommendations are provided for improvements. On simple issues, the recommendations are made by the course coordinator while on more substantive issues the recommendations are made with the entire academic or in some cases, with the entire college. Students learned the theory and practice of classical as well as modern instrumentation techniques

A hands-on approach to differential circuit measurements

Electronic engineering is showing a definite trend towards differential circuits. However, most measurement instruments are single-ended. Consequently, engineering graduates often lack the skills to perform correct differential measurements. This paper describes the theoretical background, development and limitations of three experiments that help students to gain insight into differential measurements and the origin and consequences of a low common-mode rejection ratio. The experiments require only common equipment and suit both electrical and non-electrical engineering students.

Instrumentation and Measurement Course for Non-Electrical Engineering Students

The focus of the paper is on implementation of a core undergraduate course offered to nonelectrical engineering students. The course provides a foundation and an avenue for physical system modelling and applying a system approach to problem solving. It is a prerequisite course for the automatic control course offered in the seventh semester. The logical sequence of the course follows the flow of data from sensing element, transduction, signal conditioning and digital conversion. Several specially tailored experiments are designed to motivate students and inculcate professional attitudes. Based on students' questionnaires, they are more interested in laboratory work, and in using problem solving skills, than in theories and analysis.

March madness: a mechatronics project theme

The growing realization of the need to educate mechanical and other non-electrical engineering students in the application of electronics, microprocessors and software has led to the creation of Mechatronics courses (and in some cases degree programs) at many universities around the world. Many of these courses share a set of basic goals and an emphasis on laboratory work in general, and design projects in particular. This paper presents an example of an open-ended project that has been developed in support of the undergraduate mechatronics course at Stanford University. This is a one-quarter course that culminates in a project that occupies the student's laboratory time for the last four weeks of the quarter. The paper will present a recent successful project description and examine several student solutions.

An Electro-Mechanical Teaching Model for The Transistor

An electro-mechanical teaching model for the transistor An electro-mechanical teaching model for introducing transistor action to engineering students, especially non-electrical engineering students, is presented here. When this model is utilised, absolutely no mention need be made of electrons or holes even to introduce complex concepts.