Education: Debugging

We study how students learn to debug circuits in order to improve electrical engineering education. Debugging is a complex cognitive process and is a specialized form of problem-solving. It is a skill that engineers and computer scientists use on a daily basis when working with physical systems and code. Formal curriculum for teaching debugging is sparse and lacks evidence of efficacy. We seek to change this by studying what cognitive steps of debugging students struggle with the most. 

Our current efforts have focused on how students compare models and physical circuits to find discrepancies (model-based reasoning). We also look at what actions and measurements students take to isolate the problem in hopes of understanding how strategy affects performance. As part of these efforts, we have been creating interactive, online assessments that allow us to better understand students’ decisions during debugging. Not only can we study large numbers of students this way, but we can also create guided activities with follow-ups based on students’ responses that allow students to better learn debugging in this era of remote learning.