Incorporating Studio Format Into An Introductory Microprocessor Course

In the fall 2002 semester I expanded an introductory microprocessor course by adding studio content and received very positive results. Studio format is a method of teaching engineering material, using cooperative learning and hands on activities. This course is a requirement for all of our electrical engineering and computer engineering undergraduate students. The course previously did not have laboratory content and in expanding the course we chose studio as an alternative to laboratory format. Unlike other uses of studio format, the lecture component was retained as-is. In this case studio is scheduled separately from the lecture component. While our scheduling of studio time is like that of a laboratory, the studio format is actually quite different from laboratory format in several ways. In particular, for an introductory microprocessors course, studio provides an effective means to get students active early in the semester. In summary, we find that studio format helps greatly in teaching introductory microprocessor topics and we are continuing to refine our use of studio format in this course.