Thinking Maps in Teaching Analogue Circuits Concepts Applied to Electronic Engineering: A Four-Year Case Study at UESTC, China

摘要

To have students comprehend and master the course `Fundamentals of Analogue Circuits' better, the curriculum development on strategies of active learning is reported in this paper. As one strategy of active learning, previously mainly used in primary and secondary education, thinking maps, are employed in teaching Chinese college electronic engineering students by authors. Different types and application for teaching of thinking maps are discussed, designed and implemented by authors. By introducing the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), the assessment tool to analyze the status of students in class and evaluate the teaching effects objectively is utilized by the authors. After four years' continuous modification, results to compare student performance data collected each year taught by same instructor are provided by the authors. The result that student examination and overall scores improved, whereas student score distribution did not show significant improvement are found by the authors. The study suggests that higher ratios and weights of thinking maps, better timing in introducing thinking maps, and more integrated course components in thinking map may further improve student performance.