Light, Sound, and Electronics: Enhancing Self-Efficacy Through Hands-on, Project-Based Residential Education

We propose a pilot offering of 6.070 Electronics Project Lab in residences for Fall and Spring of AY21. This hands-on introduction to electronics gives students an intuitive understanding of circuits. They execute lab exercises and design projects, such as nightlights, temperature-controlled LEDs, and circuits flashing LEDs to music. Students often take videos of the circuits to share with friends. Typical comments are: "This gave me enough understanding of the fundamentals to explore some of the EE things I've been interested in; [I]f you're like me and know nothing coming in, it's great and rewarding to be able to build something at the end." This project will help MIT students learn how to best combine residential-based, project-based, and hands-on learning to enhance students’ sense of self-efficacy.