On the study of electrical engineering
Well, I started this blog because I thought it might be interesting to put some of the things I think about down on paper. Or...electrons. So, here's a thought I thunk yesterday:
This thought I thunk as I was thinking concerned the topic of teaching electrical engineering. As you (might) know, I am a student at Texas A&M University studying Computer Engineering. My major is essentially a blend of Computer Science (software, code, programs) and Electrical Engineering (hardware, metal, electrons). As my professor was going over some of the principles of using transistors, it occurred to me that while all of my computer science courses have been focused on design, all of my electrical engineering courses have been focused on analysis. In CPSC 111, I learned Java (programming language (not not coffee (or an island))). How? By writing programs with Java. In ECEN 214, I learned about basic circuits. How? By studying the voltage, current, etc. of a bunch of complicated circuits, the practical use (if any) of which was not presented. In a word, it was lame. How enthusiastic would I be about programming, if the only way I had learned it was by reading code, and never writing my own? Admittedly, I don't know how practical any of this is, but it seems to me that students would be (I would have been) more engaged in the principles of electrical circuits if they were using them as a means in the process of creative design. If they were using them to build a useful circuit.
So if you happen to be the Dean of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M, this is what one person thinks.
This thought I thunk as I was thinking concerned the topic of teaching electrical engineering. As you (might) know, I am a student at Texas A&M University studying Computer Engineering. My major is essentially a blend of Computer Science (software, code, programs) and Electrical Engineering (hardware, metal, electrons). As my professor was going over some of the principles of using transistors, it occurred to me that while all of my computer science courses have been focused on design, all of my electrical engineering courses have been focused on analysis. In CPSC 111, I learned Java (programming language (not not coffee (or an island))). How? By writing programs with Java. In ECEN 214, I learned about basic circuits. How? By studying the voltage, current, etc. of a bunch of complicated circuits, the practical use (if any) of which was not presented. In a word, it was lame. How enthusiastic would I be about programming, if the only way I had learned it was by reading code, and never writing my own? Admittedly, I don't know how practical any of this is, but it seems to me that students would be (I would have been) more engaged in the principles of electrical circuits if they were using them as a means in the process of creative design. If they were using them to build a useful circuit.
So if you happen to be the Dean of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M, this is what one person thinks.
Labels: computers, education, nerd stuff
posted by RJC at
11:23 PM
1 Comments:
I agree, and not only is practical application much more interesting than theories and reading, but students are also more likely to remember material if they are able to use it and apply it in their lives/work.
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