To better motivate the study of basic electric circuit analysis and to encourage a deep learning approach among the sophomore electrical engineering students taking the course, the implementation of a "project circuit" was carried out in the Fall 2011 offering of EELE 201 at Montana State University. The project circuit, a photoplethysmograph (PPG) circuit used to monitor a person's pulse, was chosen to demonstrate a compelling circuit whose design requires a student to have strong command of key topics from the course. For example, to understand the operation of the PPG circuit and to make reasonable design choices in implementing it, students must be comfortable in making basic voltage, current and power calculations for this battery-operated device; they must be able to handle dependent sources calculations; identify and design basic operational amplifier (op amp) circuits; appreciate the importance of static offsets in op amps; develop Thevenin equivalent circuits; and carry out first-order circuit calculations. Naturally, students must also demonstrate skill in a laboratory setting as they put together and debug their circuits. So as to help the typical student through the relatively complex considerations in designing the project circuit, several standard lecture sessions were converted into active-learning group work. These activities were spread out over the semester and in many cases the activities amounted to pre-lab exercises including studying component datasheets and speculating on the impact of component specifications on circuit function. The lab activities were made to require students to tackle open-ended problems and fashioned using inquiry-based techniques. The initial implementation was assessed in terms of student performance on essay type exams crafted to probe deeper knowledge of the course material, student mastery of standard learning outcomes as evidenced by their scores on more typical calculation-type exams, student surveys, and class observations made by an evaluation expert. Prior to the implementation of the project circuit materials in the course, baseline data were collected to provide a means to determine the impact of the project circuits on student learning. This paper provides details regarding the materials and activities developed around the project circuit as well as assessment tools, evaluation methods and results in comparing the initial implementation of the project circuit materials to an offering of the course prior to the intervention. Based on the assessment of the initial deployment of the project circuit materials, revision of both the in-class prelab activities and elements of the lab explorations are underway in an attempt to enhance the typical student's ability to connect and apply the concepts learned in class to the project circuit.
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