Advances in Engineering Education - Volume 8 Number 4 - Enabling Student Success in an Online Lab-based Circuits Course

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper discusses how UC Davis offered a sophomore electrical and computer engineering hands-on lab-based course during the COVID-19 pandemic, after it was abruptly moved from in-person to remote instruction in response to California’s social distancing guidelines. To address disrupted feedback loops and remote constraints, the study uses Boost Points and Student Assistants policies to motivate early lab completion and peer-supported interaction. Survey and participation data indicate students favor these techniques, and future directions are outlined for remote lab-based circuits courses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Methods

Student Assistants/Boost Points

Video Tutorials

Preliminary Results

Participation Rates

Student Sentiments

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 Enabling Student Success in an Online Lab-based Circuits Course MASON DEL ROSARIO NICHOLAS HOSEIN TIMOTHY AMBROSE RAJEEVAN AMIRTHARAJAH ANDRÉ KNOESEN AND HOOMAN RASHTIAN University of California, Davis Davis, CA ABSTRACT In this work, the online offering of a sophomore electrical and computer engineering hands-on course at UC Davis during COVID-19 pandemic is discussed. In response to California’s social distancing guidelines, the course was abruptly moved from in-person to remote instruction. To overcome the challenges inherent in remote instruction, we employed novel policies,“Boost Points”(BP) and“Student Assistants”(SA), to incentivize early action on lab assignments and interaction between students. We present survey and participation data that show students favor these techniques. Finally, we outline future directions for SA/BP in lab-based circuits courses. Key words: Analog and Digital Systems, Remote Learning, Laboratory Course INTRODUCTION In this paper, we discuss the UC Davis Spring 2020 offering of the sophomore electrical and computer engineering (EEC) course, EEC10- “Introduction to Analog and Digital Systems.” EEC10 is a lab-based course that introduces EEC undergraduates to building and debugging analog circuitsand microcontroller programming [1] . In response to California’s social distancing guidelines, the course was abruptly moved from in-person to remote instruction. Prior work has investigated techniques for online instruction in FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 1 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Enabling Student Success in an Online Lab-based Circuits Course lab-based circuits courses [2–4], but the abrupt transition to remote teaching prevented the teaching staff from implementing these techniques. We faced challenges in delivering instruction and assistance, as remote instruction disrupts typical feedback loops and hinders issue resolution. We also faced logistical challenges such as the distribution of hardware to students living in different parts of the state, the country, or the world as well as software installation on heterogeneous devices. To tighten the feedback loop, we employed new techniques and policies including incentivizing early action on lab assignments, and distributing responsibility for assisting other students as well as more established practices such as providing students with video tutorials for asynchronous learning. We present survey and participation data that show students favor these techniques, and we discuss future directions for remote lab-based circuits courses. METHODS For remote labs, we conducted daily lab video conferencing sessions (Zoom) . Conducting labs remotely impedes students engagement in at least two ways: 1. Circuit debugging – Remote labs over video conferencing complicate getting feedback on circuits, as it is difficult to point to specific locations on a circuit through a camera. 2. One-on-one attention – For each lab session, one TA was responsible for twenty students. If the TA is not mindful of time spent with each student, then the TA might not address every student before the session ends. To remedy these barriers to student engagement, we implemented the following policies: Student Assistants/Boost Points The primary issue faced during lab sections is lack of one-on-one attention for students. To provide more human resources, we implemented a Student Assistant policy. First, we incentivized students to finish labs early by offering extra credit in the form of Boost Points (BP) . For each day before the deadline that students finished the lab, they would earn 2 BP up to a maximum of 10. Students who submitted early could join a lab session as Student Assistants (SAs) . The TA would take students with similar questions, pair them with a SA and create a

FAQs

Why was the course moved from in-person to remote instruction?

It was moved abruptly in response to California’s social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are Boost Points (BP) and how were they used?

Students could earn extra credit by finishing labs early, receiving 2 BP for each day before the deadline up to a maximum of 10.

How did Student Assistants (SAs) support students in lab sections?

Students who submitted early could join as SAs; TAs paired students with similar questions with a SA and used private breakout rooms, while TAs stayed available if the group was stuck.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart