Increasing Hands-on Laboratory Equipment Experience via Rotation of Notebook Recording Duties

Instructors often seek pedagogical innovations that will ensure laboratory experiences are meaningful and instructive for all participating students. In this paper we share the results of one such approach, namely the weekly rotation of laboratory notebook duties among lab team members in an electronics course attended by junior electrical and computer engineering students. Our research has found that the requirement to have one team member complete a detailed laboratory notebook entry each week while the other performs the lab exercise, and then alternating those duties every other week, enhanced the hands-on experience and equipment competencies for all team members over the duration of the course. The authors used preand post-course surveys as well as laboratory notebook performance grades and in-lab observations to verify that lab competencies were enhanced for all students over the course of the semester. It was found that skills and confidence in 13 out of 14 lab competencies tested were greatly enhanced by the novel pedagogical improvement. These skills include troubleshooting, the use of oscilloscopes and taking critical measurements. The authors also surveyed students on 17 categories focusing on attitudes and preferences and perceptions of engagement. Post-course survey responses were largely more positive than the pre-course responses in roughly half of the categories. The remaining categories showed no significant change. Lab notebook grades also showed a distinct increase over the course of the semester, which indicated improvement in note-taking skills. Students were in 100% agreement via the post-course survey that on the lab days when they were not the note-taker they had most of the responsibility for operating the laboratory equipment and constructing the required circuits. It is this requirement that the authors believe was the most significant factor in the improvement of their hands-on laboratory skills. Background and Motivation The formation of laboratory teams of two to three students each is common but can often lead to a division of labor that may work against the desired learning outcomes for the course. The authors have observed that in many laboratory settings the participating students migrate to the portions of the assignments with which they are most comfortable, such as operating equipment, setting up the experiment, taking notes and data, writing the final report, etc. Over time some students acquire the competencies that the laboratory experiences are designed to develop, while others miss out on parts of those experiences. The authors also observed in the preparation work for a junior-level electronics course and research on the topic that after four laboratory courses through the first and second years in the electrical and computer engineering curricula, some lab team members in the junior year were unable effectively to operate laboratory equipment on their own. Specific observations such as this led the authors to hypothesize that many students were not gaining all they could from course laboratories. In an attempt to ensure that all students would be active participants in the use of all laboratory equipment, the instructors introduced a rotating schedule in which each week one student in a P ge 25766.2 team recorded detailed results, observations, and comments in a professionally maintained laboratory notebook while the other student assembled circuitry and operated test equipment. The duties were alternated every week during the semester to ensure that each student would have responsibility for six laboratory notebook entries and for six design/build/test experiences. This arrangement increased significantly the likelihood that each student would have to operate the laboratory equipment mostly on his/her own for half of the assignments since the lab notebook requirements were quite significant. (See the next section for a description of the notebook requirements and evaluation rubric.) The completed laboratory notebooks were due immediately at the end of the lab period, so the note-taker could typically offer little help with circuit assembly and equipment operation. The role of note-taker was all-consuming as described below. An additional goal of requiring the maintenance of a professional notebook was to help students learn to document their work quickly, thoroughly, and accurately. Early in the semester, anecdotal observations began to confirm that the rotating notebook requirement might be having just the effect that instructors hope for in their lab settings. During the first week, when one team member was diligently attempting to understand the notebook requirements, the other team member was asking for help from the instructor or teaching assistant in setting up their proto-board and laboratory test and measurement equipment. Some students asked very basic questions such as how to take current and resistance measurements. The pattern of some students requiring assistance with basic tasks occurred again in the second week when the roles of note-taker and equipment operator were exchanged. The instructors viewed this as evidence of the division of labor that is often reported in team activities. The incidence of very basic questions became less frequent as the semester progressed. The authors have noted in the literature that many educators require laboratory notebooks in order to assist in the achievement of various educational objectives, including increasing communication and record keeping skills; familiarizing students with industry standards and patent requirements for documenting innovations; and more fully engaging students in the analysis of their laboratory experiences and problem solving skills. While these many roles for laboratory notebooks in engineering pedagogy are laudable and important, most papers cite their use by each student individually for each lab. The innovation described in this paper is focused on alternating that assignment weekly and requiring the submission of the notebook at the end of the lab session with the goal of achieving a more balanced accomplishment of all laboratory learning objectives by every member of the team. We share this work in the hope that other instructors will also test this novel methodology and verify our positive findings. In this paper, we summarize our observations over a semester-long junior-level electronics laboratory course in which the rotation of responsibilities described above was introduced to all of the student teams. In the first section of this paper, we outline the detailed requirements for the laboratory notebook and the rubric used to assess student achievement. In the next section, we describe the blind self-reporting student surveys administered at the beginning and end of the course that focused on lab skills, student attitudes, and the impact that this teaching strategy had on student engagement. Next, we share our assessment of the increases in student competencies as measured by the surveys as well as direct measurements and anecdotal observations that corroborate the improvements in student competencies. In the concluding section, we discuss the implications of our results. P ge 25766.3 Laboratory Notebook Requirements and Evaluation Rubric Three-hour lab sessions for the junior-level electronics course were scheduled for most weeks of the semester. Two sessions were scheduled per week to accommodate the 30 students in the course. A new lab exercise was completed by the students each week (there were no multi-part exercises), and a total of 12 laboratory exercises were completed over the course of the semester. All but one team in each session was a two-person team; the one had three students because of odd enrollments. The role of note-taker in each team alternated each week so that each student completed notebook entries six times over the course of the semester. Two students took notes every other week in the three-person teams. Each week the note-taker was required to describe the details of the laboratory analyses; provide the rationale and background for all calculations, test configurations, and data collection methods; record measurements, including captured screen images from test equipment; and interpret the results gathered by the team during the lab session. The lab notebooks were expected to meet standards that closely approximate those found in professional settings. The notebooks were to be submitted immediately at the end of the laboratory period, requiring the note-taker’s focused and diligent attention throughout the entire three hours allotted. Instructions describing the notebook guidelines were distributed to the students at the beginning of the semester and are summarized in Table 1 (edited for space and clarity). A short quiz on the notebook guidelines was given at the beginning of the first lab session to motivate students to become familiar with the expectations right away. Table 1 – Summary of lab notebook instructions. Use a bound quadrille-lined notebook if possible. Avoid spiral-bound or other loosely-bound notebooks. Number all pages consecutively. Notebooks with preprinted page numbers are preferred. Sign and date (w/year) each page used. Have your lab partner witness (by signature) each page as well. It is acceptable to use either one side or both sides of each sheet (if both sides are numbered), but be consistent. Make entries chronologically. Do not remove pages. Draw a line across large unused spaces to inform the reader that nothing is missing. Use ink, and do not erase or white out any entries. If you make an error, simply cross out the entry using a single line; do not obliterate it. The error should be readable for later reference. Cite any references (including web pages) that are used. Respect others’ intellectual property. Securely fasten (preferably using tape) plots, diagrams, and other figures drawn or printed on loose paper to the noteb