Bringing real-world case studies into manufacturing engineering curriculum

Students, especially nonelectrical engineering majors, have difficulty understanding the principles of electrical circuits. In addition, instructors have difficulties attracting students concerning the material as well as helping them to understand what is happening inside electric circuits/systems. On the other hand, students have great difficulty relating what they have learned on real world applications. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed computer-based instruction (CBI) with real-world case studies. In this paper, an approach is developed, backed by multimedia, to present case studies inside CBI. A selected case study, the power supply, is presented as a model case study for those introduced in this curriculum.