A Motivational First‐year Electronics Lab Course

Abstract

Abstract An elective laboratory course has been developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to motivate freshmen for further study of engineering in general and to spur interest in electrical and computer engineering in particular. The course philosophy is that hands‐on laboratory and design experiences build student confidence, stimulate curiosity, and demonstrate the relevance of engineering work — thereby increasing motivation and retention. This paper describes the structure of the new course and reports on the evaluation results, which confirm that carefully structured hands‐on experience is an effective way of motivating freshmen. Evaluation results also indicate that the course has increased student creativity and confidence. Since the lab course is just one credit, it appears possible to address the motivation problem without overloading already crowded first‐year engineering programs.