Design of computer simulation experiments for an introductory controls course

In this paper, experiments using computer simulations for an introductory controls course taught at North Dakota State University are described. These experiments serve to motivate the students, to build their intuition as to what the controller should look like, and to illustrate how and why feedback controllers work. Observations gained over the past two years as to what makes such experiments successful are discussed and the intent of homework assignments used throughout the semester are described