WIP: Exploring the Value of a Debugging Cheat Sheet and Mini Lecture in Improving Undergraduate Debugging Skills and Mindset
Andrew Ash, John Hu

TL;DR
This study investigates the impact of a debugging mini-lecture and cheat sheet on third-year electrical engineering students' debugging skills and mindset, showing promising improvements in speed and perception despite limited statistical significance.
Contribution
It introduces a microelectronics debugging intervention using a mini-lecture and cheat sheet, providing preliminary evidence of their potential to enhance debugging skills and mindset.
Findings
Experimental group was faster by 1:43 on average
Experimental group had a 7% higher success rate
Students' debugging mindset shifted towards greater value perception
Abstract
This work-in-progress research paper explores the efficacy of a small-scale microelectronics debugging education intervention utilizing quasi-experimental design in an introductory microelectronics course for third-year electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students. In the first semester of research, the experimental group attended a debugging "mini lecture" covering two common sources of circuit error and received a debugging cheat sheet with recommendations for testing and hypothesis formation. Across three debugging problems, students in the experimental group were faster by an average of 1:43 and had a 7 percent higher success rate than the control group. Both groups demonstrated a strong general growth mindset while the experimental group also displayed a shift in their debugging mindset by perceiving a greater value towards debugging. Though these differences are not yet…
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Taxonomy
TopicsEducation and Critical Thinking Development
