The Wave Concepts Inventory-an assessment tool for courses in electromagnetic engineering

Abstract

The Foundation Coalition at Arizona State University offered for the first time a novel upper division integrated course in Electrical Engineering in the fall '97 semester. The courses involved were (1) an introduction to the properties of electronic materials and (2) the first course for EE majors in electromagnetic engineering. The main thread that integrated the two courses was "wave phenomena". To determine whether this integration successfully teaches the students in wave phenomena, we developed an assessment tool, which we have called the Wave Concepts Inventory. This paper describes in detail the organization of the Waves Concepts Inventory and its use in assessing upper division students in their understanding of wave concepts.