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ECE1240 Math Module : Overview & Instructions

ECE1240 Math Module

Overview & instructions

This module is for the purpose of helping first year ECE students strengthen their math skills needed to be successful in their ECE coursework. It is also associated with the senior project of Linda Baker. All submissions will be done through Canvas. Surveys will be submitted anonymously.

There are four math topics that will be included as part of the module. They are included and addressed sequentially in relationship to the ECE1240 curriculum.

The full module has been designed to take approximately three hours in its entirety. It can be done in small segments at your own pace and convenience. However, for the sake of accurate study analysis, please, pretty please submit a pre-assessment before you submit a post-assessment for any of the topics. All of the study elements are listed below:

  • Pre-study survey
  • Units/Scientific Notation pre-assessment
  • Units/Scientific Notation tutorial
  • Units/Scientific Notation post-assessment
  • Matrix Math pre-assessment
  • Matrix Math tutorial
  • Circuit analysis video
  • Matrix Math post-assessment
  • Derivatives in Circuits pre-assessment
  • Derivatives in Circuits tutorial
  • Derivatives in Circuits post-assessment
  • Integrals in Circuits pre-assessment
  • Integrals in Circuits tutorial
  • Integrals in Circuits post-assessment
  • Post-study survey

Module elements

Surveys

There will be two surveys included in the study: one at the beginning and one at the end of the module. These are designed to ascertain student attitudes toward engineering related math concepts.

pre-assessment

Each math topic will begin with a pre-assessment. Scoring for these assessments will use a wrong-answer penalty on multiple choice questions to discourage guessing. There is no time limit for any of the assessments, but the goal is to determine how knowledgeable you are regarding the specific topic. To prevent skewing of the study results, please refrain from consulting any resource material in answering the questions of the pre-assessment. There will be between 3-6 questions on each pre-assessment. A response of "I'm not sure" on an assessment will not be considered a wrong answer.

tutorials

The pre-assessment should be followed by reviewing the topic tutorial (a PDF containing 3-8 handwritten pages) to enhance knowledge of the math topic. The tutorials are designed to review and give instruction for the specific topic. There are also examples containing step-by-step solutions.

virtual lab video

The Matrix Math topic will also include a virtual lab video that will illustrate the connection between the theoretical use of matrices in analyzing circuits and actual measurements. The video is intended to be viewed after reviewing the tutorial but before the Matrix Math post-assessment.

post-assessments

Post-assessments should be completed following review of the tutorial for a specific topic. They are designed to test the effectivity of the tutorial. Scoring will again use a wrong-answer penalty on multiple choice questions to discourage guessing. Please refrain from consulting resource material other than the tutorial while completing the post-assessment. There will be between 2-4 questions on each post-assessment.  A response of "I'm not sure" on an assessment will not be considered a wrong answer.

Activities

For your convenience, links to each element included in the study are provided below, in the order the topics appear in the ECE1240 curriculum. They can also be accessed through the "modules" tab of the ECE1240 page. The module is entitled "Study Module". Please email me, Linda Baker (ljbaker@live.com) or message me through the ECE1240 page if you have any questions or you encounter a broken link. I am planning a post-study pizza event (with food) for participants just prior to Exam #4. See the flyer at the bottom. Thanks for your help!