TRANSITION TOWARDS EDUCATION 4.0 IN THE ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CIRCUITS LAB
Authors: Ivanciu Lauranicoleta , Sipos Emilia 
Published: February 2023

The new generation of students comes with new demands regarding the way they are taught, from kindergarten to university. In engineering education, a continuous effort needs to be made, in order to provide students with both the theoretical knowledge, available for remote learning, as well as practical skills, developed through face-to-face activities. For the electronic devices and circuits lab, the transition to Education 4.0 was made gradually. The theoretical knowledge is available online, to be studied as preparation for the lab, while the practical skills are developed in weekly lab sessions. The six working desks were positioned based on the SCALE-UP model, each one accommodating three students, while the teacher is able to roam between desks and become an active member of every team, rather than just a supervisor. The entire lab space is designed in a semi-circular configuration, with the smartboard visible from every working desk. Another change was in the way the practical experiments are conducted: the students get to implement the circuits on breadboards, rather than just analyzing the ready-made PCBs.
At the beginning of the lab, each team receives a breadboard, a set of wires and a bag containing the necessary discrete components. Students are supposed to build and supply the circuits, as well as to visualize waveforms and measure circuit parameters. The layout of the circuits is not imposed, each team can choose to place the components in their own manner, as long as the topology is correct. Since introducing breadboards, teachers noticed that in a lab session, no two teams choose the same layout, which further demonstrates that using this method increases student creativity. The teacher validates the circuit implementation together with each team of students, by first analyzing how the components are placed and connected on the breadboard, and by discussing the waveforms from the oscilloscope. If the implementation is incorrect, the teacher points out the mistakes and the students correct them. The final circuit is the result of a collaborative effort between team members.
After the mandatory circuits are completed, students often come up with new structures - either using the same components, or asking for additional ones, which stimulates their exploratory instinct. This way, students are encouraged to go beyond the imposed limits, with their self-confidence boosted, as they succeed in building their own circuits. Students collect and analyze experimental data (waveforms, voltage characteristics, measurements) using dedicated computer software, and the results are sent by email, at the end of each lab. Together with the theoretical resources, these results facilitate the remote, self-paced learning process, as a major shift towards Education 4.0.
The results of the implemented changes include improved student-teacher interactivity, observed by a significant increase in the number of questions addressed to the teacher; increased student implication during experiments; increased student creativity and desire to explore new circuits; ability to access theoretical knowledge and practical results, by digital means.