Paper ID #11922 Embedding Engineering Design in a Circuits and Instrumentation Course Dr. Jacquelyn Kay Nagel, James Madison University Dr. Jacquelyn K. Nagel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison Uni- versity. She has eight years of diversified engineering design experience, both in academia and industry, and has experienced engineering design in a range of contexts, including product design, bio-inspired de- sign, electrical and control system design, manufacturing system design, and design for the factory floor. Dr. Nagel earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University and her M.S. and B.S. in manufacturing engineering and electrical engineering, respectively, from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Dr. Nagel’s long-term goal is to drive engineering innovation by applying her multidisciplinary engineering expertise to instrumentation and manufacturing challenges. Mr. Stephen Keith Holland, James Madison University S. Keith Holland received his PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004. He served as the Vice President for Research and Development with Avir Sensors, LLC prior to joining the Department of Engineering at James Madison University (JMU). At JMU, he developed statics, dynamics, circuits, instrumentation, controls, renewable energy, and engineering study abroad courses. His current research interest include material development for solar energy applications and optoelectronic device development for non-destructive testing and evaluation. Brian Groener , James Madison University Page 26.594.1 Page c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 Embedding Engineering Design in a Circuits and Instrumentation Course Abstract The junior level circuits and instrumentation course at James Madison University is a 4-credit course with three lectures and one laboratory each week. Fundamentals of DC and AC circuit analysis are covered along with instrumentation topics. The laboratory portion of the course reinforces the concepts learned in lecture and assignments while building skills in circuit prototyping and measurement. Lab exercises have traditionally been a time when students follow a given procedure, collect data, and interpret the data. The highly structured experience often leads to students focusing on the procedure and not fully thinking through the concepts being covered. To encourage a deeper understanding of course concepts and how they translate to physical systems, two open-ended design projects were offered in place of structured labs in the most recent offering the circuits and instrumentation course. The design projects are undirected experiences that build on the directed experiences in the lecture and lab. Students are challenged to work in teams of four to design, build, test a specific type of circuit. Project one focused on a calibrated instrument that reported the weight of a sample using a strain gage. Project two focused on the design of an analog filtering circuit. No instruction is provided for the projects, rather, a set of design requirements, timetable, and supplemental materials (e.g., data sheets, vendor design briefs, past labs relevant to the design requirements) are given. Students were required to synthesize multiple weeks of course content into a single design project. This paper reports on our observations and findings for embedding design experiences into a circuits and instrumentation course, as well as descriptions of the design projects. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of student perceptions of learning achieved through the projects was performed using surveys and reflections. Introduction The relatively young engineering program at James Madison University has been designed to train the Engineer of 20201,2. The program was developed from the ground up to not be an engineering discipline-specific program, but to provide students training with an emphasis on engineering design, systems thinking, and sustainability. Our vision is to produce cross-disciplinary engineer versatilists. At the heart of this program is the six-course engineering design sequence which provides instruction on design theory (thinking, process, methods, tools, etc.), sustainability, ethics, team management, and technical communication (both oral and written), while incorporating elements of engineering science and analysis. Students apply design instruction in the context of two projects during the six-course sequence—a cornerstone project spanning the fall and spring semesters of the sophomore year, and a capstone project spanning the junior and senior academic years. The curriculum of our non-discipline specific engineering program, shown graphically in Figure 1, combines a campus-wide, liberal arts general educational core with courses in math, science, engineering design, engineering science, business, systems analysis, and sustainability3,4. Individual skills taught developmentally through the curriculum, beginning with the freshman year, are blended with engineering design theory and utilized in projects in the design sequence. The engineering design sequence is meant to be the core or spine of the engineering curriculum. During the engineering design courses, students not only learn engineering design tools and methods but also learn about creativity, 26.594.2 Page sustainability, business, ethics, values, engineering science, math, and manufacturing. It is during this engineering design sequence where students are provided with a hands-on environment to apply the theory learned in other courses5. Similarly, the engineering science courses provide an opportunity to apply the theory and problem solving processes learned in the engineering design courses. Y E Calculus 1 Liberal Arts Core Liberal Arts Core Liberal Arts Core Physics 1 A R Introduction to Calculus 2 Liberal Arts Core Liberal Arts Core Physics 2 1 Engineering Y Engineering E Calculus 3 Liberal Arts Core Design 1 Liberal Arts Core Chemistry 1 A R Linear Algebra & Engineering Engineering Statics & Dynamics Chemistry 2 2 Different Eq. Design 2 Management 1 Y Instrumentation & Engineering Engineering E Thermal-Fluids 1 Circuits Design 3 Management 2 Liberal Arts Core A R Materials & Engineering Thermal-Fluids 2 Liberal Arts Core Liberal Arts Core 3 Mechanics Design 4 Y Sustainability Engineering E Fundamentals Systems Analysis Design 5 Technical Elective Liberal Arts Core A R Sustainability & Engineering Technical Elective Technical Elective Liberal Arts Core 4 Design (LCA) Design 6 Figure 1: Schematic illustrating the engineering curriculum4. Introductory electrical engineering courses have traditionally focused on problem solving and analysis theorems, which are often complemented by laboratory experience. What this structure lacks is a way to motivate the students, and provide experience with building practical circuits. To make a required course relevant, practical, and engaging while still providing the necessary instruction in fundamentals open-ended projects are often added6-9. Engineering curricula often heavily emphasize scientific and mathematic calculations. While computational mastery is critical for engineering students, it is also important for students to use quantitative results to reason about problems within systems and make necessary adjustments. Projects allow students to practice this aspect of engineering10. The viewpoint at James Madison University on design projects is that they challenge students to synthesize multiple course concepts and work in teams to create something practical or relevant, thus reinforcing the need for learning the theoretical concepts required in a course. Therefore, each engineering design and the majority of engineering science courses implement a course project. All projects within the curriculum are team-based; therefore training in teamwork is a thread throughout the design sequence of the curriculum. Beginning in their first year, students work in small teams toward a project goal (changes each semester and by instructor) and receive training in the context of how group processes and collaborative learning influence the professional development of an engineer. Formal training in team building, team dynamics, and team management begins in the first semester of the second year in ENGR 231 – Engineering Design I. In this course students are taught the five stages of team development by Tuckman and spend the first three weeks working on team assignments to tease out each members’ behavior and values that impact or influence the role they take within a team. Additionally, students learn about constructive and destructive conflict, characteristics of successful teams, team structures, and elements of effective team meetings. And teams synthesize this information 26.594.3 Page into a team code of conduct. Following Engineering Design I students developmentally build on the foundational knowledge of teamwork in the design sequence. Thus, teamwork is not taught in the engineering sciences courses. In this paper we explain the open-ended lab design projects offered in the junior level circuits and instrumentation course at James Madison University. The projects were offered across two sections with different instructors in a single semester. The following section provides background information on implementing open-ended or design projects in introductory circuits courses and labs. The next section describes the circuits and instrumentation course at James Madison University