New And Innovative Instructional Approaches For Teaching Engineering Technology Courses: A Case Study

This paper describes new innovations in teaching digital electronics courses in the two-year electrical engineering technology program (2EET) at The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College. The instructional approach used in the three credit-hour digital electronics theory course (EET 117) was based on the engineering case studies derived from actual industry situations. The teaching approach used in the one credit-hour digital electronics laboratory course (EET 120) was based on student centered engineering design teams. The case-based teaching approach used in the EET 117 course was very helpful to students in gaining an insight into the industrial applications of digital systems technology. Learning through case studies helped engineering technology students work creatively in teams to solve engineering problems. Providing students with case study experiences can be viewed as equipping future engineers/engineering technologists with the tools they will need to effectively perform in industry. The traditional approach to teaching the digital electronics laboratory (EET 120) included eleven weeks of laboratory exercises starting with basic gate circuits and ending with state control counters. The last three laboratories focuses on the design of a digital system. The new technique reversed the process by integrating the design into every laboratory and using a design team concept. The student teams were given the specifications for a digital system in the second week of the semester. The design problems had three major subsystems that included digital technology covering all the topics in the courses. As the teams worked on the digital circuits they learn the operation of the subsystems through the design, analysis, and testing process. In the P ge 323.1