2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract

In many Engineering Physics programs with low enrollment, General Physics courses are offered only once per year. Compounding this challenge, many first-year students enter college with diverse mathematics backgrounds and are unable to enroll in Calculus during their first semester. As a result, students frequently complete the required Calculus–General Physics sequence only by their junior year, delaying their entry into engineering courses. Meanwhile, from the perspective of the students, many mathematics courses are often perceived as overly theoretical and disconnected from practical applications. Consequently, many students lose motivation and leave the program within the first two years.

To address these issues, our program introduced Circuit Analysis in the second semester of the freshman year. This adjustment allows students to study General Physics and Circuit Analysis in parallel, providing an earlier exposure to engineering content and practical problem-solving. However, several challenges arise when freshmen take a rigorous engineering course so early in their studies.

First, many freshmen lack the appropriate perspective for college-level engineering courses. Circuit Analysis, though built on only a few fundamental laws, develops into a complex structure of concepts and applications. Figuratively, the knowledge framework of many engineering courses resembles a tree: viewed from the trunk, the structure is simple and clear; from the outside, it appears intricate and overwhelming.

Second, students often demonstrate a superficial understanding of core concepts. For example, in Ohm’s law, the voltage is the potential difference across a passive component, yet many students often misinterpret it as the nodal voltage on one side of the device. Similarly, the abstraction of Thévenin’s and Norton’s theorems poses significant difficulty to many students.

Third, freshmen frequently lack problem-solving skills. Instead of applying principles systematically and deriving the formula for a specific problem in a step-by-step approach, they engage in “equation shopping,” attempting to find solutions by substituting values into formulas without understanding the underlying reasoning.

Finally, laboratory work introduces another layer of difficulty. Students often struggle to connect schematic diagrams to physical circuits, limiting their ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical implementation.

This paper discusses these challenges in detail and shares observations, instructional strategies, and reflections on placing Circuit Analysis in the freshman curriculum. The goal is to highlight both the benefits and obstacles of this curricular shift and provide insights for programs seeking to improve student retention and engagement.