Shared Laboratory Experience: A Comprehensive Resource for Teaching Engineering Concepts

研究人员正在开发一个实验室，将通信、数字设计、信号处理和超大规模集成电路（VLSI）等领域结合起来，使用罗文大学的“综合实验室体验”概念。该项目涉及跨多个学期的实施，通过开发可应用于多个课程的实验，并通过创建学生设计和开发“产品”的实验室，并将该“产品”传递给其他相关课程的学生。为了实现总体目标，研究人员正在创建七个实验，这些实验将产生“产品”，这些“产品”将成为拟议开放实验室的一部分。这些努力不仅为其他大学提供了一套不同寻常的实验手册和“罐装”实验，以适应他们的需求，而且还为未来的项目提供了一种新的范例。拟议的开放实验室将提供机会(1)设计不可能在单一课程中开发的复杂系统/实验；(2)让学生在课堂上接触到现实世界的设计问题；(3)通过跨学科的小组实验项目提高学生的团队合作能力；(4)通过必要的产品文档提高沟通能力。所有的实验描述、整合问题、评估结果和其他结果都通过一个专门的项目网站和工程教育文献出版物进行传播。研究人员还在各种面向中小学生的推广活动中展示开放实验室的“产品”和实验演示。

Electrical Engineering (55)The investigators are developing a laboratory that unifies the areas of communications, digital design, signal processing, and VLSI using Rowan University's concept of an "integrated lab experience". The project involves an implementation that spans multiple semesters by developing experiments that may be applied to more than one course and by creating labs where students design and develop a "product", and pass this "product" on to students in other related courses. In order to achieve the overall objective, the investigators are creating seven experiments leading to "products" that will be a part of the proposed open laboratory. These efforts are not only producing an unusual set of laboratory manuals and "canned" experiments for other universities to adapt to their needs, but also a new paradigm that future programs can adopt. The proposed open laboratory will provide an opportunity to (1) design sophisticated systems/experiments that are impossible to develop in a single course; (2) expose students to real world design problems in the classroom; (3) improve student teamwork via inter-disciplinary group laboratory projects; and (4) improve communication skills through required product documentation. All experiment descriptions, integration issues, assessment findings, and other outcomes are being disseminated using a dedicated project web site and publications in the engineering education literature. The investigators also are showcasing the open-lab "products" and experimental demos in various outreach activities for elementary and secondary students.