Toward a Comprehensive Online Transfer Engineering Curriculum: Assessing the Effectiveness of an Online Engineering Circuits Laboratory Course

Abstract

Nicholas Langhoff is an associate professor of engineering and computer science at Skyline College in San Bruno, California. He is also a co-investigator for multiple grant projects at Cañada College in Redwood City, California. He received his M.S. degree from San Francisco State University in embedded electrical engineering and computer systems. His research interests include technology-enhanced instruction, online engineering education, metacognitive teaching and learning strategies, reading apprenticeship in STEM, and the development of novel instructional equipment and curricula for enhancing academic success in science and engineering.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Toward a Comprehensive Online Transfer Engineering Curriculum: Assessing the Effectiveness of an Online Engineering Circuits Laboratory Course AbstractCommunity college engineering transfer programs prepare a significant percentage of graduates from university engineering programs, yet face challenges from a fragmented lower division engineering core curriculum, limited scheduling options for students, and sometimes marginal enrollment patterns. In addition, most small college programs are run by one permanent faculty, making it difficult to provide lower-division engineering courses with the breadth and frequency needed for effective and timely transfer preparation. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program (NSF IUSE), three community colleges from Northern California collaborated to increase the availability and accessibility of the engineering curriculum by developing resources and teaching strategies to enable small-tomedium community college engineering programs to provide a comprehensive set of lowerdivision engineering courses. These courses can be delivered either completely online, or with limited face-to-face interactions. This paper presents the development and testing of the teaching and learning resources for an online Engineering Circuits Laboratory class, a one-unit laboratory course offered alongside the circuit theory course, which is already available in an online format. The class materials cover the use of basic instrumentation (DMM, Oscilloscope), analysis and interpretation of experimental data, circuit simulation, use of MATLAB to solve circuit equations in the real and complex domain, and exposure to the Arduino microcontroller. A systems approach to selected topics is also introduced as a way to contextualize student exposure to the material. The paper presents the results of the pilot and a second implementation of the curriculum, as well as a comparison of the outcomes of the online course with those from a regular, face-to-face course. Additionally, student surveys and interviews are used to determine student perceptions of the course resources, student use of these resources, and overall satisfaction with the course.

Strategies for Developing, Expanding, and Strengthening Community College Engineering Transfer Programs

“…Content is delivered using a variety of formats similar to those used in many existing online and hybrid engineering courses. Curriculum development was done for four lower-division engineering laboratory courses: Introduction to Engineering [34], Engineering Graphics [35], Circuits Lab [36], and Materials Science [37]. Implementation of the curriculum indicates its effectiveness in enhancing the capability of small community colleges in supporting the lower-division engineering courses needed by students to be competitive for transfer to four-year engineering programs.…”

2018 Best Zone IV Paper: Strengthening Community College Engineering Programs through Alternative Learning Strategies Developing an Online Engineering Graphics Course

“…CALSTEP is a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program, and one of its main objectives is to develop laboratory courses that are delivered either completely online, or with limited face-to-face interaction. The online laboratory courses developed include Introduction to Engineering 13 , Engineering Graphics 14 , Materials Science 15 , Circuits 16 , and MATLAB Programming. Each of the three partner institutions is responsible for developing curriculum for a specific set of courses, and the curriculum materials developed are shared, piloted and tested at the three sites.…”

Strengthening Community College Engineering Programs through Alternative Learning Strategies: Developing an Online Engineering Graphics Course

“…CALSTEP is a three-year project funded by the National Science Foundation through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program, and one of its main objectives is to develop laboratory courses that are delivered either completely online, or with limited face-to-face interaction. The online laboratory courses developed include Introduction to Engineering 13 , Engineering Graphics 14 , Materials Science 15 , Circuits 16 , and MATLAB Programming. Each of the three partner institutions is responsible for developing curriculum for a specific set of courses, and the curriculum materials developed are shared, piloted and tested at the three sites.…”