Assessing Students’ Understanding of Solid-State Electronics in the First Introductory-Level ECE Course

Perez, Rene Alexander Soto; Fisher, Alden; Douglas, Kerrie A.; Peroulis, Dimitrios

doi:10.1109/fie43999.2019.9028620

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Understanding diode characteristics and equivalent diode circuits alone is not sufficient preparation for solving diode circuit problems (Perez et al, 2019). Students must also understand basic circuit concepts (Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's law) (Liu et al, 2022;McPadden et al, 2018), as well as understand concepts of AC and DC voltages (Ünal, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Students must also understand basic circuit concepts (Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's law) (Liu et al, 2022;McPadden et al, 2018), as well as understand concepts of AC and DC voltages (Ünal, 2022). Students who can transform diode circuits into equivalent circuit forms (ideal diode concept) will not be able to analyze diode circuits if they do not understand basic circuits, concepts of AC and DC voltages (Perez et al, 2019;Van De Bogart & Stetzer, 2018). Students who have understood basic circuits and concepts of AC and DC voltages also cannot analyze diode circuits if they do not understand equivalent diode circuits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conflict between physical analysis and mathematics causing failure: A case on diode circuits

Kurniadi,

Hidayat,

Handayanto

et al. 2024

Momentum: Physics Education Journal

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This study aims to describe the causes of students' failures in solving diode circuit problems. Research data were obtained through tests, dialogs, and interviews with 12 students of the physics education study program at Universitas PGRI Madiun. The research began by providing diode circuit test questions. Referring to the answers to the diode circuit test questions, an investigation was conducted through a basic circuit mastery test, followed by dialogs and interviews. The data from the test results, dialogs, and interviews in this study led to the conclusion that the common causes of students' failures in solving diode circuit problems are the inability to apply Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's law correctly, as well as the inconsistency and lack of systematic application of basic circuit concepts. A specific finding regarding the causes of failure in solving diode circuit problems is the conflict between physical and mathematical analyses. Based on the common causes of students' failures in solving diode circuit problems, a series of conceptual scaffolding needs to be designed. In conceptual scaffolding, complex circuits are transformed into several basic circuits to facilitate scaffolding for each basic concept. Procedural scaffolding needs to be designed to address failures resulting from the conflict between physical and mathematical analyses. One necessary step in procedural scaffolding is confirming answers using Kirchhoff's law.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conflict between physical analysis and mathematics causing failure: A case on diode circuits

Kurniadi,

Hidayat,

Handayanto

et al. 2024

Momentum: Physics Education Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Numerous studies have been conducted regarding difficulties related to conceptual understanding of the physics of the concepts covered in the basic circuit analysis courses. These include investigation of student understanding of the concept of electricity and how ac current flows [7], student difficulties in learning dc circuits [6], understanding of physics of resistive circuits [8], learning of basic semi-conductor physics concepts [9,10], identification of misconceptions shared between instructors and students regarding how ac circuits work [2], and understanding prior knowledge to create learning environments for better understanding of circuits [11]. Additionally, many studies are conducted related to instruction of basic circuit analysis courses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent mistakes in learning basic circuit analysis

Fayyaz

Trueman²

2022

PCEEA

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Basic circuit analysis is a core course in most of the undergraduate engineering programs and is the prerequisite course for many other courses in the undergraduate electrical engineering program. Students enter into engineering schools with varying knowledge of the concepts of basic circuit analysis depending on whether they come from high school, CEGEP, or a technical college, etc. Many students from all engineering majors struggle to learn the concepts taught in these courses which creates challenges for both faculty members and students in courses when for which basic circuit analysis is a pre-requisite course. There is more research done in understanding the conceptual knowledge of physics of electricity and electric (and electronic) components and improving the instruction of basic circuit analysis concepts, but not enough work is done to understand the mistakes undergraduate electrical engineering students continue to make course after course. For this study, the authors look at the persistent problems in learning circuit analysis techniques by looking at students’ use of these techniques in three core courses in electrical engineering program namely electronics 1, electronics 2 and electromagnetic waves and guiding structures. Students’ responses to exam questions that specifically expected students to use these concepts are analyzed. The objective of the study was to analyze whether the understanding of the application of circuit analysis techniques get better as students continue to use these concepts in more courses and applications, or the problems persist. Results show that the students persistently make mistakes in applying KVL and KCL equations, nodal analysis, superposition theorem, voltage divider, and mesh analysis. Additionally, the results reveal that students persistently make mistakes in questions that involve the concepts of load and no load, open circuit, series components, parallel components, voltage drop across the current source, and voltage gain. It is noted that the mistakes made by students do not get much better as they continue taking more courses. The results of this study are important from many aspects. They are helpful to understand the continuing struggles of students and so are helpful to design pedagogy and assessment in a way that these concepts can be well explained. Thorough understanding of the concepts in a course that is as important as basic circuit analysis is important to achieve many engineering education goals including student retention, motivation, innovation, and inclusion.

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“…ECE education has also seen innovation and experimentation in student assessment and evaluation methods. Direct evaluation methods of student performance and understanding in ECE courses have included mixed exam methods, analysis of final scores, and threshold concept inventories, with generally positive and promising outcomes encouraging long-term adoption [8] - [11]. Some proposed assessment methods have also sought to center the student voice and experience in undergraduate ECE education, in order to invite the students to be active participants in designing and informing the continuous learning process.…”

Section: Introduction 1innovation In Ece Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The CARE methodology: A new lens for introductory ECE course assessment based on student challenging and rewarding experiences

Mouallem,

Horowitz,

Sheppard

2023 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Aya Mouallem (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She received a BEng in Computer and Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Aya is a graduate research assistant with the Designing Education Lab at Stanford, led by Professor Sheri Sheppard, and her research explores the accessibility of introductory electrical engineering education. She is supported by the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship and the RAISE Doctoral Fellowship.

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Assessing Students’ Understanding of Solid-State Electronics in the First Introductory-Level ECE Course

Cited by 3 publications

References 9 publications

Conflict between physical analysis and mathematics causing failure: A case on diode circuits

Conflict between physical analysis and mathematics causing failure: A case on diode circuits

Persistent mistakes in learning basic circuit analysis

The CARE methodology: A new lens for introductory ECE course assessment based on student challenging and rewarding experiences

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