Laboratory Instructions as a Cause of Student Dissonance

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to explain and remedy the major differences in pass-rates for a
laboratory given to both electrical engineering (EE) and computer science (CS) students
at the largest university in Sweden. Almost all EE students fail the lab, whereas
nearly every CS student of the previous year passed. The EE and CS labs are given at
different points in the education and have different course managers, but the labs are
strikingly similar.
We performed a student survey in order to identify the problem areas. In particular,
we asked about the level and quality of the lectures and laboratories. These are important
issues, since the EE course has different managers for these two tasks. Previous
attempts to get student feedback have been made by the lab session manager [1]. However,
our survey was extensive, with answers from over 100 students. Unfortunately,
we could not give the survey to the CS students, as this years’ students have yet to take
the lab.