Work in progress &amp;#x2014; Using cognitive development approaches in teaching electrical engineering concepts

Mina, Mani; Moore, Anthony

doi:10.1109/fie.2010.5673626

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Intrinsic cognitive load can be thought of as the natural demand imposed by the learning material for a particular domain (e.g., electrical engineering), per se [18], [19]. According to Sweller et al [17], this type of cognitive load stems from the amount of "element interactivity" encompassed in a particular learning task.…”

Section: B Overview Of Working Memory and Cognitive Load Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technological Literacy Learning With Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations Into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

et al. 2012

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Abstract-Technological literacy education involves the teaching of basic engineering principles and problem solving, including elementary electrical circuit analysis, to non-engineering students. Learning materials on circuit analysis typically rely on equations and schematic diagrams, which are often unfamiliar to non-engineering students. The goal of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of the integration of equations into circuit diagrams on the learning of non-engineering undergraduate students. This experimental study compared three integration designs. In the cumulative integrated design, as each practice problem solution progressed, the equations were cumulatively integrated into the circuit diagram. In the stepwise integrated design, only those equations relevant to the present step of the problem were integrated into the circuit diagram; previously displayed equations were moved to an adjacent frame and recorded there. The nonintegrated design recorded all equations in the adjacent frame throughout each of the problems. Student learning was measured with a problem-solving near-transfer and far-transfer post-test. Students rated the helpfulness of the diagrams and difficulty of the instructional program. Results indicated that participants in the cumulative integrated condition scored significantly higher on the near-transfer post-test and marginally significantly higher on the far-transfer post-test compared to the stepwise and nonintegrated conditions. Findings indicate that circuit analysis instruction for non-engineering students should integrate equations into circuit diagrams in a cumulative fashion so as to avoid the split-attention effect for both the previously displayed equations as well as the equations for the present problem step.

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Section: B Overview Of Working Memory and Cognitive Load Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technological Literacy Learning With Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations Into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

et al. 2012

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“…Similarly, two items related to the helpfulness of the module had an . Perceived cognitive load [58], [59] was assessed with two items adopted from [60], "The lesson was difficult" and "Learning the material in the lesson required a lot of effort", and had an .…”

Section: B Instructional Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Color Coding of Circuit Quantities in Introductory Circuit Analysis Instruction

2015

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Learning the analysis of electrical circuits represented by circuit diagrams is often challenging for novice students. An open research question in electrical circuit analysis instruction is whether color coding of the mathematical symbols (variables) that denote electrical quantities can improve circuit analysis learning. The present study compared two groups of high school students undergoing their first introductory learning of electrical circuit analysis. One group learned with circuit variables in black font. The other group learned with colored circuit variables, with blue font indicating variables related to voltage, red font indicating those related to current, and black font indicating those related to resistance. The color group achieved significantly higher post-test scores, gave higher ratings for liking the instruction and finding it helpful, and had lower ratings of cognitive load than the black-font group. These results indicate that color coding of the notations for quantities in electrical circuit diagrams aids the circuit analysis learning of novice students.Index Terms-Circuit diagram, electrical circuit analysis, font color, multiple representations, novice learners.

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“…During the first stage, selecting relevant material, the learner selects the essential text and diagram elements from the presented information. Because working memory (the cognitive component that temporarily holds information for active processing) capacity is limited [22]- [25], learners must distinguish important information from less important information and attend to/mentally process that important information in order to successfully accomplish the subsequent stages of multimedia learning. The second stage, organizing selected material, involves processing selected text and images to create structural relationships between verbal elements and also between pictorial elements.…”

Section: Overview Of Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introductory Circuit Analysis Learning From Abstract and Contextualized Circuit Representations: Effects of Diagram Labels

et al. 2014

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Abstract-Novice learners are typically unfamiliar with abstract engineering symbols. They are also often unaccustomed to instructional materials consisting of a combination of text, diagrams, and equations. This raises the question of whether instruction on elementary electrical circuit analysis for novice learners should employ contextualized representations of the circuits with familiar components, such as batteries, or employ abstract representations with the abstract engineering terms and symbols. A further question is if text labels in the circuit diagrams would aid these learners. This study examined these research questions with a "2 3" experimental design, in which the two forms of representation (abstract or contextualized) were considered under three types of diagram labeling (no labels, static labels, or interactive labels). The design was implemented in an instructional module on elementary circuit analysis for novice learners. Results indicated that abstract representations led to higher near-and far-transfer post-test scores, and that interactive (student-generated) labeling resulted in higher near-transfer scores than either the no-labels or static-labels conditions. These findings suggest that abstract representations promote the development of deep, transferrable knowledge and that generative methods of integration, such as interactive diagram labeling, can facilitate learning with multiple external representations.Index Terms-Circuit analysis instruction, circuit diagram, diagram label, electrical circuit analysis, multiple external representations, novice learner.

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Work in progress — Using cognitive development approaches in teaching electrical engineering concepts

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Technological Literacy Learning With Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations Into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

Technological Literacy Learning With Cumulative and Stepwise Integration of Equations Into Electrical Circuit Diagrams

Color Coding of Circuit Quantities in Introductory Circuit Analysis Instruction

Introductory Circuit Analysis Learning From Abstract and Contextualized Circuit Representations: Effects of Diagram Labels

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