Goldberg, S. (2023, March), EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population  Paper presented at ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--45063

\bibitem{asee_peer_45063}
  Goldberg, S. (2023, March), \emph{EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population}
  Paper presented at ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania.
  10.18260/1-2--45063

Stephanie Goldberg.  "EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population".  ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania, 2023, March.  ASEE Conferences, 2023.  https://peer.asee.org/45063 Internet.  29 Jun, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_45063}
  Stephanie Goldberg.
  "EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population".
  \emph{ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023, State College,, Pennsylvania, 2023, March}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2023.
  https://peer.asee.org/45063 Internet.  29 Jun, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_45063
author = "Stephanie Goldberg"
title = "EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population"
booktitle = "ASEE Zone 1 Conference - Spring 2023"
year = "2023"
month = "March"
address = "State College,, Pennsylvania"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/45063}
number = {10.18260/1-2--45063}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A ‘freshman circuits’ course was introduced into the curriculum of our EET (Electrical Engineering Technology) program about eight years ago in order to a) engage with freshmen entering our program who faculty would otherwise not come into contact with until the sophomore/junior years, b) generate interest in and motivation for the electronics field through lab exercises and projects, c) study the very early portions of upper level circuits course, and d) have exposure to basic technical math.  Since the time of the course creation, math preparedness has declined among students attending the course.  Students are also coming into the EET program with decreasing levels of technical/tooling familiarity.

It has been observed that students who typically gain competency with the course material have the ability to manipulate simple algebraic equations and establish an algebraic equation to represent a situation in an elementary word problem, and/or have technical/tooling experiences such as informal participation in technical projects with a relative/mentor or attending technical elective courses in high school.  Students coming to the course with such a background typically exhibit confidence and familiarity with the field.  

ET (Engineering Technology, which includes EET and MET [Mechanical Engineering Technology]) is related to, but quite different from theoretical engineering degrees.  In understanding the ET student, it is helpful to note that the National Academy of Engineering documents that the emergence of Engineering Technology as an academic discipline can be trace to the mid-1950s for 2-year associate’s degree (and 1960s for the four-year bachelor’s degree), when curricula in traditional engineering programs began to focus more heavily on advanced science and mathematics coursework and de-emphasized hands-on lab work.  The author has observed that the prototype ET student of the past several decades has confidence and enthusiasm for hands-on technical applications and works hard to obtain just enough math skills to be effective in their academic program.  ET students that attempted theoretical four-year engineering programs often migrated to ET.  

Course topics and activities are highlighted in this article, and recent modifications and enhancements to the curriculum are presented that attempt to assist the changing ET student, including the infusion of straightforward algebra experiences and encouragement of exploration in solving manageable, uncomplicated technical tasks.

AU  - Stephanie Goldberg
CY  - State College,, Pennsylvania
DA  - 2023/03/30
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - EET Freshman Circuits Course for the Changing Student Population
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45063
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45063
ER  -