An Economical Self-Supervised Individually Operated Open Electronics Laboratory

A senior electronics laboratory at Michigan Technological University has operated for more than a year with 100 students each term working individually on an open laboratory basis. The objectives of the laboratory are to teach the theory and practice of experimentation and supplement engineering theory presented in the classroom. Students schedule their laboratory time in two-hour blocks and perform experiments alone without direct supervision. This laboratory has increased development of experimental skills for all students compared with traditional group operation. The laboratory has functioned on a small budget with no new equipment in the first year and no increase in instructor time. This mode of operation is presently being extended to selected analog, digital, and electromagnetic laboratories.