[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-588807-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-588807-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","evaluating-the-effectiveness-of-an-affordable-and-portable-laboratory-kit-for-an-introductory-control-systems-course","Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Affordable and Portable Laboratory Kit for an Introductory Control Systems Course","","Laboratory kits enable students to conduct experiments outside scheduled lab time, increasing hands-on access for online programs and for campuses constrained by budgets. This study used a quasi-experiment comparing an introductory control systems course offered twice: half used existing laboratory equipment and half used an affordable portable kit, with matched lab objectives and closely aligned instructions. Achievement and experiences were assessed using graded lab reports, surveys, focus groups, reflections, midterm and final exams, and concept inventory scores.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/evaluating-the-effectiveness-of-an-affordable-and-portable-laboratory-kit-for-an-introductory-control-systems-course/588807/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/evaluating-the-effectiveness-of-an-affordable-and-portable-laboratory-kit-for-an-introductory-control-systems-course/588807.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Chumphorn","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What was the main goal of comparing the two lab equipment formats?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study compared students’ achievement of the laboratory learning objectives and their learning experiences when using a portable kit versus existing laboratory equipment.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How did the researchers structure the quasi-experiment?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Two offerings of an introductory control systems course were used, with half of the laboratory sections using existing equipment and the other half using a new kit.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What data sources were used to evaluate learning and student experience?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Assessment combined graded laboratory reports, end-of-semester surveys, focus groups, student reflections after each laboratory, midterm and final exam scores, and control systems concept inventory scores.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},588807,1792191320,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336475401981,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c94efd8d5204d?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786935347598174694","| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n|  |  |  |  | |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |\n\nFALL 2019  \nEvaluating the Effectiveness of an Affordable and Portable Laboratory Kit for an Introductory Control Systems Course  \nREBECCA M. RECK Kettering University Flint, MI  \nR. S. SREENIVAS University of Illinois Champaign, IL  \nAND  \nMICHAEL C. LOUI Purdue University West Lafayette, IN  \nABSTRACT  \nLaboratory kits allow students to take home laboratory equipment to complete experiments on their own time. Because of the lower cost, laboratory kits expand access to hands-on experiences for online courses and to budget-strapped campuses. Although students like laboratory kits, no previous studies compared student learning objectives on assignments using laboratory kits with existing laboratory equipment. We conducted a quasi-experiment to compare students' achievement of learning and their experience in the instructional laboratory for two offerings of an introductory control systems course. Half of the laboratory sections in each offering used the existing equipment, while the other sections used a new kit. The objectives of the laboratory experiments were the same for both types of equipment, and the instructions were as close as possible. In order to assess the students' achievement of the learning objectives and understand the students' experience, we collected a variety of data, including graded laboratory reports, end-of-semester surveys, focus groups, student reflections after each laboratory, midterm exam scores, final exam scores, and control systems concept inventory scores. This comprehensive assessment method may be of independent interest. Based on the data collected, we found no significant differences in the achievement of the learning objectives or in the students’ experiences.  \nKey words: undergraduate, laboratory, learning objectives  \nADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION  \nEvaluating the Effectiveness of an Affordable and Portable Laboratory Kit for an Introductory Control Systems Course  \nINTRODUCTION  \nInstructional laboratories are a common experience for all undergraduate students majoring in engineering because laboratory experiences help link theory to practice (Feisel and Rosa 2005) . Unfortunately, traditional on-campus laboratories require engineering departments to address challenges such as such as budget constraints, space limitations, class size, and limited teaching resources (Borgstrom et al. 2012, Dixon, Dawson, and Costic 2002, Ionescu et al. 2013, Khan, Birchfield, and Singh 2012) . Additionally, as engineering departments offer online courses, they need to provide laboratory experiences for off-campus students (Aktan et al. 1996, Boubaker 2012, Hyder, Thames, and Schaefer 2009) . Laboratory kits, an alternative to traditional on-campus laboratories, can solve many of the challenges listed above. Kits cost less than traditional laboratories and allow students to take home laboratory equipment to complete experiments on their own time (Sarik and Kymissis 2010, Stark et al. 2013) . Because kits are portable, they can also be shipped to students in online courses (Martinez et al. 2016) . While a laboratory kit is a viable alternative to traditional laboratories, the students should still able to achieve the intended learning objectives. This study compares student achievement of learning objectives to show that laboratory kits can be an effective alternative to traditional on-campus laboratories.  \nBACKGROUND  \nThis section highlights laboratory kits of similar cost across engineering disciplines. Then the section discusses specific details about control systems laboratories and kits.  \nEngineering Laboratory Kits  \nLaboratory kits have become popular because the cost of the required hardware has decreased (Sarik and Kymissis 2010) . The contents of a kit depend on the learning objectives of the laboratory and are assembled by the instructor (Sarik and Kymissis 2010, B","cbCaiunLdhTXy8wo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiunLdhTXy8wo","pdf",5912836,35,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Background\n## Engineering Laboratory Kits\n## Control Systems Laboratories","[{\"question\":\"What was the main goal of comparing the two lab equipment formats?\",\"answer\":\"The study compared students’ achievement of the laboratory learning objectives and their learning experiences when using a portable kit versus existing laboratory equipment.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the researchers structure the quasi-experiment?\",\"answer\":\"Two offerings of an introductory control systems course were used, with half of the laboratory sections using existing equipment and the other half using a new kit.\"},{\"question\":\"What data sources were used to evaluate learning and student experience?\",\"answer\":\"Assessment combined graded laboratory reports, end-of-semester surveys, focus groups, student reflections after each laboratory, midterm and final exam scores, and control systems concept inventory scores.\"}]","Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Affordable and Portable Laboratory Kit for an Introductory Control Systems Course | PDF",1792065975,88]