Project-Based Learning For a Digital Circuits Design Sequence

In today's globally competitive business environment, technology-based companies are looking for and expect to hire workers who have the skills necessary to successfully perform in a changing knowledge-based society. Students of today enter an increasingly globalized world in which technology plays a vital role. They must be good communicators, as well as great collaborators. The new work environment requires responsibility and self-management, as well as interpersonal and project-management skills that demand teamwork and leadership. It is essential that academic institutions equip future graduates with the essential skills to be an integral part of this change. Project-based learning (PBL) is designed to put students into a students-as-workers setting where they learn collaboration, critical thinking, written and oral communication, and the values of work ethic. In this paper we present a strategy for applying PBL to Digital Circuits. PBL applied to Digital Circuits and Design Sequence (DCDS) courses addresses the need to provide undergraduate electrical and computer engineering students with such capabilities as they relate to real-world applications.