Shared Laboratory Experience: A Comprehensive Resource for Teaching Engineering Concepts

电气工程(55)研究人员正在开发一个实验室，利用罗文大学的“综合实验室体验”概念，将通信、数字设计、信号处理和超大规模集成电路等领域统一起来。该项目涉及一个跨越多个学期的实施，方法是开发可应用于多门课程的实验，并创建实验室，让学生设计和开发一种“产品”，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，以获得将成为拟议中的开放实验室一部分的“产品”。这些努力不仅产生了一套不同寻常的实验室手册和“罐头”实验，以供其他大学适应他们的需求，而且还产生了一个未来项目可以采用的新范式。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真实世界的设计问题；(3)通过跨学科小组实验室项目改善学生的团队合作；以及(4)通过所需的产品文档提高沟通技能。所有实验描述、整合问题、评估结果和其他结果都通过专门的项目网站和工程教育文献中的出版物进行传播。研究人员还在为中小学生举办的各种外展活动中展示了开放实验室的“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.