Using behavioral modeling and simulation for learning communication circuits and systems

This paper analyzes the use of behavioral simulation techniques to enhance the teaching-learning process in electrical engineering courses, specifically those dealing with circuits for communication systems. The method - which can be applied to both undergraduate and master courses - allows students to better understand complex circuit- and device-level phenomena, by describing them at a higher abstraction level. As a demonstration vehicle of the presented methodology, two examples are considered in this work: an analog front-end of a direct-conversion digital radio receiver and a ΣΔ modulator. In both cases, behavioral models of the different subcircuits have been implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK and used by the students enrolled in two different courses: an undergraduate course and a master course. The results presented in this paper reveal that students become highly motivated and satisfied with the course contents and the proposed simulation-based learning methodology.