T2-E: Use of In-Class Wireless Circuits Demonstration to Explain Antenna Concepts to Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Students

Electromagnetics concepts are traditionally considered among the most difficult to understand and least popular by undergraduate students in electrical engineering. Learning of such concepts often requires the understanding of phenomena that are not visible. Therefore, they highly rely on the student’s ability to perform abstract reasoning. In this paper, a demonstration to explain concepts related to antenna electromagnetic radiation, and field polarization, is designed and implemented. An audio signal is transmitted from one side of the classroom to the other, using a simple experimental setup, providing a direct way to sense (hear) the changes in signal intensity to the students. The percentage of students that stated that they had a very clear understanding of antenna radiation and polarization concepts changed increased by 72.5% thanks to the activity. Furthermore, all the students either agreed or strongly agreed that the activity should be implemented in future semesters