Annual Report
A 23 Year Retrospective
Higher Education Inc.
Electrical Engineering Division
“Hand Crafting Graduates, One at a Time”
Data Taken From
NSF04302
National Demographics of Electrical Engineering Students
Bachelor Degree Unless Otherwise Stated
Female
(13%)
Male (87%)
Hispanic (8%)
Black (7%)
Asian (24%)
Undergraduate Students
Foreign
Citizens
(14%)
Native
American
(0.3%)
White (61%)
Graduate Students
U. S.
Citizens
(86%)
Foreign
Citizens
(56%)
1
2
U. S. Citizens
(44%)
National Demographics of Electrical Engineering Students
Bachelor Degree Unless Otherwise Stated
Jobs of 1999 & 2000 BSEE graduates in 2001
Other science or
engineering (35%)
Electrical
Engineer
(57%)
Somewhat
Related (31%)
Closely
Related
(51%)
Non-related
Field (8%)
Not Related
(18%)
The Drive to Succeed
Students Self-Reporting Cheating
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
100%
Frequency of Cheating
80%
60%
40%
20%
1964
1996
Year of Study
2004
0%
More than 1/Semester
1/Semester
At some
Time
BSEE Degree Production over Time
Bachelor Degrees
Masters Degrees
Ph.D. Degrees
20,000
10,000
2002
1997
1992
1987
0
1982
Number of Degrees Granted
30,000
Year
Ph.D. Degrees
156% Increase over 19 Years
8.2% per year
Bachelor Degrees
11% Increase over 19 Years
0.58% per year
The news
bad news
is our product
is stagnating…
The good
is production
is down
and costs are rising…
250
Percentage Ratio
Women ÷ Men
200
College ÷ Life
150
100
50
2002
1997
1992
1987
1982
0
Year
Costs are 220% Higher Adjusted for Inflation
6.3% per year
6.7% More Women over 19 Years
0.5% per year
A Critical Look at the University
• Stories are much more powerful than data!
• The observer affects the measurement.
• We generalize personal experiences or beliefs rather than base teaching on facts.
• “Students are less willing to work now than they were in the past.”
• “Students care more about their social life than about their school work.”
Broad generalizations form the mythos of the university.
• Universities arose in 11th and 12th centuries as cathedral and monastery schools.
• A demand for educated men resulted in secular universities.
• Early universities had no physical building- students came from all over to study
with the Masters.
• Over time universities became more organized and developed curricula.
“The original Latin meaning of curriculum was a course, but
of the kind that one runs around (it came from currere, to
run), or perhaps traverses in a racing chariot, a transferred
sense. The first borrowing of the Latin word into English—in
the late seventeenth century—was for a light, two-wheeled,
twin-horsed carriage”
Source: http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-cur1.htm
One of the earliest woodcuts of a Medieval University (c. 14th Century )
What has changed in nine centuries?
The assumption inherent in the paradigm on which modern higher
education rests is that specialized information can only be found and
learned at universities.
"Today's production and distribution of information are undermining the
university structure, making it ready to collapse in slow motion once
alternatives to its function become possible."
E. Noam, "Electronics and the dim future of the university," Science, vol. 270, pp. 247-249, 1995
• Our students learn what we teach them, but often do not become what we intend.
• Students learn behaviors that let them succeed in classes, but these behaviors are not
always needed to succeed as an engineer.
What is the solution and what does this have to do with case studies?
Transition from a knowledge-based paradigm to a paradigm that is development-based.
Stories are a very effective way to teach students why they should learn.
We remember what we understand;
we understand only what we pay attention to;
we pay attention to what we want.
Putting Knowledge in its Place.
Knowledge-based program: teaching a specific set of concepts prepares students
for a career in engineering.
• Inherent assumptions:
• Information can only be learned at universities.
• Information is a rare and expensive commodity.
• Exponential growth of information, need for knowledge outside narrow disciplines,
growing uncertainty in the career choices of our graduates  increase the
knowledge content of our program without increasing time to graduation.
Development-based program: teach students the process of solving the problems
in addition to the concepts needed to understand them.
• Developing problem solving skills is of equal or greater importance than
gaining a broad overview of electrical engineering.
Ineffective ways to make this transition:
• Removing “legacy material” from the curriculum.
• There is no accepted way to identify legacy material, it depends on context
rather than intrinsic merit. Is chemistry legacy knowledge for an electrical
engineer? It depends on the story!
• Blindly adopting technology.
A Historical Example: Authentic vs. Artificial Learning
An anecdotal story involves
a young Niels Bohr taking a
physics exam at the
University of Copenhagen.
One of the questions asked
how to determine the height
of a skyscraper with a barometer.
Niels Bohr’s answer was to tie a long
string to the barometer, lower it from
the roof, then measure the length of
the string. The professor gave a
failing grade to Niels, who
immediately appealed on the
grounds that his answer was correct.
At the hearing Niels passed the
exam by stating five other ways to
determine the building height, each
more practical than the answer the
professor wanted, determining the
difference in air pressure.
Class Emphasis:
students read
Artificialhave
Learning:
Students’
use of
Freshman/Senior
like pattern
matching
Recall concepts,
facts,
60%
30% or
Rememberstrategies
terminology and units.
memorization to pass a class with as
provide feedback
high a grade as possible
Correctly solve simple
20%
25%by
learning
is reinforced
Understand Artificial
problems, give
examples
contrived
testaor
homework problems
design
solution
Be able to solve a
15%
20%
Apply
related problem
Authentic
Learning: Students take
build a
solution
on tasks
that
mimic those used by
Be able to predict
system To
engineers.
5%develop
10%
Analyze practicing
behavior quantitatively
deep learning students must be given
evaluate performance
authentic tasks. To become
Be able to make
10%
Evaluate objective
engineers
judgments students need to
continually
practice
being engineers.
improve
performance
new approaches
Create Develop
to a problem
5%
Bloom’s Taxonomy used to
gauge student development
Order of Book / Lecture Concepts
1) Lossless and lossy transmission lines
2) Reflection and standing wave ratio
3) Impedance matching, Smith charts
4) Coulomb's and Gauss' laws
5) Capacitance computations
6) Resistance computations
7) Biot-Savart and Ampere's laws
8) Electric force, energy, and potential
9) Magnetic force, energy, and vector potential
10) Inductance computations
11) Electromagnetic boundary conditions
12) Electromagnetic material properties
13) Maxwell's equations
14) Plane waves at normal incidence
15) Poynting vector, complex permittivity
Three Questions
How do charges
apply force and
carry energy?
Why don’t circuits
work the same way
at high frequencies?
How is information
and energy sent
through space?
(1) Structure learning around two or three fundamental questions rather than a fixed set of
concepts.
Order of Book / Lecture Concepts
1) Lossless and lossy transmission lines
2) Reflection and standing wave ratio
3) Impedance matching, Smith charts
4) Coulomb's and Gauss' laws
5) Capacitance computations
6) Resistance computations
7) Biot-Savart and Ampere's laws
8) Electric force, energy, and potential
9) Magnetic force, energy, and vector potential
10) Inductance computations
11) Electromagnetic boundary conditions
12) Electromagnetic material properties
13) Maxwell's equations
14) Plane waves at normal incidence
15) Poynting vector, complex permittivity
Three Questions
How do charges
apply force and
carry energy?
Why don’t circuits
work the same way
at high frequencies?
How is information
and energy sent
through space?
(1) Structure learning around two or three fundamental questions or problems rather than a fixed
set of concepts.
(2) Create a realistic environment and teach students to work in this environment by emphasizing
teamwork skills.
(3) Pose questions through a case study to make the problem relevant to students and
emphasize social, ethical, and economic impacts of the problem.
Case Studies introduce relevance and emerging knowledge into the course. Students
construct new knowledge by building upon their prior knowledge- a case study
introduces unfamiliar (new) concepts in a framework understood by the students.
Case Concepts
Studies
have students read
concepts, facts,
Remember Recall
terminology and units.
Class Emphasis:
Freshman/Senior
60%
30%
20%
25%
15%
20%
5%
10%
provide feedback
Correctly solve simple
Understand problems, give examples
design a solution
(1) Structure learning around two or three
fundamental questions
(2) Create a realistic environment
(3) Pose questions through a case study.
(4) Walk students through the process of
solving the problem in three steps:
(4a) Remember and understand outside of
the classroom. Tie all your reading
assignments back into the case study!
able to solve a
Apply Be
related problem
build a solution
Be able to predict system
Analyze behavior quantitatively
evaluate performance
able to make
Evaluate Be
objective judgments
10%
improve performance
new approaches
Create Develop
to a problem
5%
Bloom’s Taxonomy used to
gauge student development
WebCT ensures Knowledge and Comprehension
Assign students reading assignments from book or other web-based resources every class period.
WebCT based quiz guides students to important concepts from reading assignment
Case Concepts
Studies
have students read
concepts, facts,
Remember Recall
terminology and units.
Class Emphasis:
Freshman/Senior
60%
30%
20%
25%
15%
20%
5%
10%
provide feedback
Correctly solve simple
Understand problems, give examples
design a solution
(1) Structure learning around two or three
fundamental questions
(2) Create a realistic environment
(3) Pose questions through a case study.
(4) Walk students through the process of
solving the problem in three steps:
(4a) Remember and understand outside of
the classroom.
(4b) Faculty actively interact with students
in-class in applying what they know and
analyzing the problem. Problems given in
context of case study.
able to solve a
Apply Be
related problem
build a solution
Be able to predict system
Analyze behavior quantitatively
evaluate performance
able to make
Evaluate Be
objective judgments
10%
improve performance
new approaches
Create Develop
to a problem
5%
Bloom’s Taxonomy used to
gauge student development
In class students apply their knowledge with faculty guidance to address student
misconceptions. One team accomplishes a standard weekly homework
assignment each class.
Case Concepts
Studies
have students read
concepts, facts,
Remember Recall
terminology and units.
Class Emphasis:
Freshman/Senior
60%
30%
20%
25%
15%
20%
5%
10%
provide feedback
Correctly solve simple
Understand problems, give examples
design a solution
(1) Structure learning around two or three
fundamental questions
(2) Create a realistic environment
(3) Pose questions through a case study.
(4) Walk students through the process of
solving the problem in three steps:
(4a) Remember and understand outside of
the classroom.
(4b) Faculty actively interact with students inclass in applying what they know and
analyzing the problem. Problems given in
context of case study.
(4c) Faculty help students create a method of
solution and evaluate their understanding by
creating a realistic deliverable (product,
experiment, etc.)
(5) Students build an engineering portfolio,
developing credentials.
(6) Students assess and reflect on their
understanding and experiences.
able to solve a
Apply Be
related problem
build a solution
Be able to predict system
Analyze behavior quantitatively
evaluate performance
able to make
Evaluate Be
objective judgments
10%
improve performance
new approaches
Create Develop
to a problem
5%
Bloom’s Taxonomy used to
gauge student development
By building an actual working device, student teams test which concepts are applicable
to a real engineering project. Not everything works the way it is illustrated in the book.
What does this change?
• 94% of the respondents felt that they learned more from working in a team.
• 78% felt this method of teaching helped make the material more relevant.
• 78% of students reported that the in-depth approach promoted learning:
“Even though this class is more work, is very demanding, can be confusing, and can be frustrating
at times; I feel that I learn better by actually doing. I will definetly [sic] retain it better.”
“I think that this class is a good step in making learning what it should be -- a vibrant and
enjoyable experience.”
“Did not like the format of the class at all. Should have had tests to test what we have learned
instead of having a final out of the middle of nowhere.”
• Student-reported learning gains varied greatly from class to class with greater success
reported by faculty more experienced in alternative teaching methods.
• A common comment from students is that they miss lecture, but there were few
substantive comments about lecture from lecture courses.
“I feel like the lectures were vital to being able to tie together everything we had learned, and to
see the relationship between two concepts.”
• After the transition there were three times more negative comments concerning course
materials than positive comments- in lecture courses a common thread was the book was
not used, rather lecture notes were preferred.
“I did not even open the book once the whole semester, nor did I do any of the suggested
homework problems, but I still feel like I know this material very well.” (student in lecture format
class)
• There were six times fewer comments about faculty in REAL LIFE, correlated with a 36%
drop in the importance of the instructor to learning;
• Faculty rated student learning significantly higher than students themselves did “…the
students became better ‘learners.’ They did not struggle as hard with difficult material as previous
classes, since they had tried to learn it themselves, and knew what questions to ask...”.
Assessment: SALG
TANSTAAFL!
Lecture and review sessions
Standard homework & Exams
Help from professor/TA
Facts and Equations
Class expectations
Help from friends
Concepts
Test taking ability
Importance Enthusiasm
Textbook & other resources
Relevance
Quizzes help learning
Teamwork
Communication
Computer Tools
-100
Electromagnetic
Fields
-80
80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100