Shifting the Responsibility of Learning in First Year Electrical Engineering Students.

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Shifting the Responsibility of Learning in First
Year Electrical EngineeringStudents.

• George Gibbon
• Associate Professor
• School of Electrical and Information Engineering
• University of the Witwatersrand
• South Africa
• http//www.dept.ee.wits.ac.za/gibbon

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Overview

• The students we get (Raw material)
• Support programmes
• Societys requirements
• Problem solving and critical thinking
• How (Electric Circuits)
• Results

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The raw material

• Clever students (IQ)! (TV/Computer generation)
• Possibly with no engineering aptitude or interest
  
• Result of Internationalisation of the South
  African secondary education system (1994)
• Success based on rote learning techniques
• Dependence on teachers for
• Material to be learnt
• Learning techniques
• Examination techniques
• Spotting of examination questions

Students are totally dependent on their teachers,
in a comfort zone, with little imagination, low
self-confidence and no intrinsic-motivation.
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The raw material

• Clever students (IQ)! (TV/Computer generation)
• Possibly with no engineering aptitude or interest
  
• Result of Internationalisation of the South
  African secondary education system (1994)
• Success based on rote learning techniques
• Dependence on teachers for
• Material to be learnt
• Learning techniques
• Examination techniques
• Spotting of examination questions

Students are totally dependent on their teachers,
in a comfort zone, with little imagination, low
self-confidence and no intrinsic-motivation.
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Support (Scaffolding) Programmes

• Programmes
• Pre-University Bursary Scheme (1986)
• College of Science
• Engineering Foundation Programme (1994)
• Compulsory Small-group Tutorials (1994)
• Side Effects
• Increased failure rate in third and fourth year
• Increased failure of the design and research
  projects in fourth year (Honours year)

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(No Transcript)
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Requirements

• Society (ECSA) Engineers must
• Creatively and innovatively identify, assess,
  formulate and solve convergent and divergent
  problems using
• mathematical and numerical analysis
• statistical methods
• physical laws
• techniques and principles of engineering science
• knowledge of the world (financial, ethical,
  environmental)
• and communicate their results.
• University (Government) Pass more students
  without changing standards.
• The School Increase throughput and eliminate
  failure in the 3rd and 4th years.
• Outcome of all University degrees

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Problem solving requires Self-motivated and
Creative Critical Thinkers

• Identify and challenge all assumptions
• Imagine and explore alternatives
• Emotive as well as rational
• Reject standard formats of problem solving
• Have multiple perspectives on problems
• Use trial-and-error and alternative approaches in
  experimentation
• Embrace change optimistically
• Self confident and trust in their own judgement

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Creative Critical Thinking (Brookfield 1987)

• A process not an outcome
• Internal, but usually connected with an
  externally imposed crisis.
• A productive and positive activity. Discouraged
  by
• Governments, religious leaders, university and
  industry administrations, peers etc.
• Cornerstone of democracy
• If a problem already has a solution there is no
  problem!!
• You cannot teach people problem solving by
  providing them with the solution (see 1). (Gibbon)

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What we decided to do?

• Remove the comfort zone
• (externally imposed crisis)
• Introduce the use of imagination, visualisation
  and the fun of exploration
• Force self-responsibility
• (intrinsic-motivation)
• Build self-confidence
• (Empower the students)

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Electric Circuits Critical Thinking
Presented over the whole year 1 formal and 1 informal lecture Externally imposed crisis, imagination, visualisation, exploration
No formal tutorials Externally imposed crisis, intrinsic-motivation
No formal laboratories Imagination, visualisation and exploration
Two self-evaluation take-home tests Intrinsic-motivation, imagination, visualisation, self-confidence
There are no solutions (memos, recipes etc) Externally imposed crisis, imagination, visualisation self-confidence
Two formal tests and an exam.
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Electric Circuits

• Laboratory 1
• Using the supplied components build the
  Amplifier with Gain20 on page 5 of the
  attached LM386 data sheet.
• Demonstrate the output of the amplifier with an
  appropriate input signal supplied to the
  microphone.
• Attached are laboratory assignments Introduction
  to the Oscilloscope and Introduction to the
  Digital Multi-meter which may help you to test
  the amplifier and demonstrate the output signal.

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Management of the imposed crisis

• The stages psychologists associate with a loss
• Shock
• Denial
• Strong emotion
• Resistance and withdrawal
• Struggle and exploration
• Return of confidence
• Integration and success.
• Foundation / Special Programmes

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Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID)

• Students were aware that the more actively they
  participated in the course the more likely they
  were to have made gains in critical and
  independent thinking.
• The weakest group, even when pushed by the
  interviewer, would not blame the lecturers or the
  university for their failures and accepted
  responsibility - a very unusual phenomena.

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Feedback from the Tutors

• Tutors feel at least 80 of the class really know
  how to use an oscilloscope.

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Results Electric Circuits Results 2004
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Mathematics II

• What had we done to the students?
• For the first time they were
• well behaved
• attentive
• prepared for both the lectures and tutorials
• reading ahead without instructions to do so.

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In conclusion

• Courses continuing the teaching philosophy
• Engineering Skills and Design Course (1st year)
• Electronics I, Software Engineering I (2nd year)
• Electronics II (3rd year)
• Measurement Systems (4th year)
• The future
• Involve all the staff and service courses
• We are
• Developing the imagination, self-confidence,
  intrinsic-motivation, critical thinking and
  problem solving skills of our students.