Innovative lab experiences for introductory electrical engineering students

In an effort to improve the learning experience of sophomore electrical engineering students, innovative lab exercises have been developed at Western New England College. The traditional lab experiments utilize passive and active elements in prescribed manners to teach students fundamental concepts. The concepts range from simple voltage division to high-order active filter circuits. This paper describes innovations in the laboratory portion of a two-semester introductory electrical engineering course. The new experiments introduce students to design with light and temperature sensors, motors, tachometers, and music equalizers. Projects include open-ended design with passive and active circuits. Furthermore, the projects are designed to enhance the students´ ability to achieve ABET outcomes C (design for realistic constraints) and I (life-long learning). In the project and lab reports, students are required to address the aspects of cost, sustainability, manufacturability, environmental impact, and safety. The laboratory experiments and projects are described in this paper along with the assessment of those projects.