Work in progress — A new laboratory project in a required Electrical Engineering course for non-majors: Design, survey, and analysis of student feedback

We investigate the student learning in a new lab project of a large introductory course in Electrical Engineering for non-majors. This lab project was developed in the Fall 2010 and offered to about 209 engineering students. In this lab project, students gain hands-on experience with two temperature controllers, Analog/Digital and Programmable, and learn the skills applicable to their major fields of study. We have implemented a survey study of student learning in this lab, embracing three metrics: Feasibility of lab design, Interest of students, and Transferability of knowledge (FIT). Our results indicate that this lab project evokes student interest and helps students to apply the knowledge gained in this course to their future learning and to engineering practice. This lab also fosters the development of students´ communication skills in a multidisciplinary environment.