Putting the engine back in the engineer

Abstract

Electrical and Computer Engineering programs across the nation are seeing a decrease in engineering student enrollment and retention. Electronic systems and components these days are far too small and complex to allow an inquisitive student to explore and satisfy their curiosity about how these gadgets work. These students often take to exploring mechanical systems instead and are thus led away from Electrical and Computer Engineering. Similarly, with advances in computer simulations of engineering circuits and models that produce realistic results, engineering programs have transitioned away from physical hardware and hands-on experimentation. This trend away from having students being able to "tinker" with real hardware is detrimental to their development into well rounded engineers. In addition, as globalization continues, engineers must broaden their team-work and technical skills. This paper describes a hardware, software and courseware learning ecosystem that has been created to capture student attention and develop a broader skill set. Laboratory and in-class exercises use POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) - based laboratory modules to engage students in learning through exploration, critical thinking, and team and cooperative participation exercises. Laboratory and in-class exercises are designed to teach the student how to explore a new technology to be able to learn more about it. In fact, learning how to learn is a key outcome. Laboratory hardware is designed to provide easy connection to real-world devices and allow students to extend their explorations from classroom theory to the practical application of technology they are learning. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2008.