Work in progress - transitioning Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB) to the community college setting

Abstract

Building upon of a set of innovative hands-on laboratory courses developed at Virginia Tech (VT) known as Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB), LiaB is now being expanded to Virginia Community Colleges (VCCS) where faculty from VT and the VCCS are working to incorporate LiaB into the engineering and engineering technology programs. As implemented at VT, the students design, build, and test at home various d.c. and a.c. circuits using an inexpensive electronics and demonstrate the operation of these circuits in an open classroom environment. LiaB covers topics ranging from simple resistive circuits to filters and provides students a physical representation of models created in various circuit modeling software programs. Modifications to the way in which the students are engaged in the LiaB experiments have been instituted at three VCCS community colleges to tailor the laboratory experience to instructional environment at each school. Learning materials are under development, to support students to achieve a deeper depth of learning of the underlying circuit theory. Non-traditional dissemination avenues, such as podcasts and Flash tutorials, are being considered as a means to engage students in the learning process. Evaluation of the courses and learning materials and assessment of the learning outcomes at VT and at the three VCCS has recently begun.