Curricular Enhancement to Support Activity-based Learning in Introductory Circuit Analysis Courses

Traditional Circuit Analysis courses introduce undergraduate Electrical Engineering students to fundamental concepts of electric circuits and networks, while providing them hands-on experience in accompanying laboratory sessions. A drawback of this conventional approach is that it restricts student creativity and circuit-building and troubleshooting skills to the confines of a laboratory. This paper proposes the use of Analog Discovery Boards (ADB) in conjunction with regular classroom learning sessions and collaborative group sessions in order to create a stepping stone towards introducing active and design-based learning in introductory circuit analysis courses. This paper presents information on the implementation of ADB activities, and observations on formative and summative assessments.