Visualizing Concepts in Electromagnetic Fields: Hands-On Experiments Using Student-Owned Laboratory Kits

Xu, Y., Meehan, K., Martin, C. V., Overby, A. B. and Wei, X. (2011) Visualizing Concepts in Electromagnetic Fields: Hands-On Experiments Using Student-Owned Laboratory Kits. In: 2011 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Victoria, B.C., Canada, 26-29 June 2011,

Abstract

Visualizing Concepts in Electromagnetic Fields: Hands-On Experiments Using Student-Owned Laboratory KitsElectromagnetic (EM) fields has been a core subject taught to Electrical and Computerengineering (ECE) students as EM concepts form the foundation for many of the principles thatare used in every area of electrical engineering. Yet, interest in the required junior level EMcourses and the subsequent EM technical electives is waning at XX. The percentage of seniorsenrolled in the technical electives in the EM area is the lowest of all technical electives offeredby the ECE department. Unfortunately, lack of student interest in EM courses has also beenobserved at other universities in the United States. This is disturbing as many of the upcomingtechnologies in electronics, communications, biomedicine, and imaging require greaterapplication of concepts from EM. Hence, it is critical that the methods used to teach EMconcepts change to improve the understanding of the fundamental concepts in EM and to attractmore students into the field to insure that our students can participate in the technologicaladvancements.Traditionally, instruction in the required EM courses tends to concentrate on abstract theory andtranslation of theory to practice occurs in the senior technical electives. However, the emphasison the theoretical concepts without mention or demonstration of their applications in theintroductory courses fails to engage our students. While computer simulations can be useful tovisualize EM concepts, studies have shown that students who gain the most from simulationsalready have a good grasp of the fundamental concepts, i.e., abstract learners. Thus, the use ofsimulations in core EM courses does not support learning by visual learners, a group with a largedistribution of women and underrepresented minority students. Providing a stronger connectionbetween theory and practice has been shown to assist visual learners to develop a deeperunderstanding of abstract theoretical concepts without harming the learning of the abstractlearners.To achieve our goal to promote a deeper understanding of EM concepts by all students, we havedeveloped a set of hands-on experiments that the students can be perform using a low-costelectronics kit and USB-powered oscilloscope, collectively referred to on campus as Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB). The experiments are designed to promote student comprehension, depth of learning,and application of the fundamental concepts in electromagnetic fields using series of opticalexperiments with eye-safe optoelectronic devices, which enable the students to see theapplication of the concepts. The electronics breadboard serves as an optical table with plasticoptical components mounted and aligned to optoelectronic and electro-optical devices usingsimple optomechanical fixtures positioned in the 0.1” spaced holes. Instructional materials havebeen created to provide background on associated technologies, applications, laser safety, andthe processes used to fabricate some of the custom optical and optomechanical components usedin the experiments. This paper will describe the pedagogical approach to incorporating LiaB intothe EM course, assessment outcomes, and lessons learned.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Meehan, Professor Kathleen
• Authors: Xu, Y., Meehan, K., Martin, C. V., Overby, A. B., and Wei, X.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering