Bottlenecks and Muddiest Points in a Freshman Circuits Course

This paper describes the bottlenecks and "muddiest points" found in a freshman circuits course and methods developed at the University of Utah to address them. The 4-credit semester-long course is a typical first circuits course with lab, including coverage of op amps and sensors. The final lab project is an invention of the student’s choosing -a resistive or capacitive sensor circuit that utilizes the course concepts as well as open-ended design and system concepts. Determination of bottlenecks and muddiest points was done through weekly muddiest point assessements, exams, quizzes or self-assesments, and online feedback. Solutions to address the bottlenecks included providing applications and real-world examples, providing step-by-step cookbooks, color coding circuit nodes, organizing the circuit design equations into a circuit analysis toolbox, using a deck of cards representing the functional design of a system, and creating a library of in class demos. These improvements, along with the use of a flipped classroom and incorporation of a National Instruments myDAQ device, resulted in an increase in the pass rate of the class.