Flipping the Classroom: How to Embed Inquiry and Design Projects
into a Digital Engineering Lecture
Flipping the classroom allows students to learn concepts outside of the classroom and apply what
they learn in the classroom, working with other students and getting immediate feedback from
the instructor. Since 2008, faculty at CSULA have been flipping the freshman/sophomore
introduction to digital engineering course some of the time through Collaborative Project-Based
Learning (CPBL). Approximately fifty percent of the class time is dedicated to interactive
classroom activities and frequent periodic assessments. The objectives of CPBL are to go
beyond the traditional lecture to: 1) foster students’ skills in engineering design; 2) stimulate
students’ interests and increase their retention rate; and 3) improve teaching and learning
efficiency by highly interactive instruction using a Tablet PC and Field Programmable Gate
Array (FPGA) platform. This paper will present the general framework for integrating CPBL
into the classroom that can be applied to any engineering course. Furthermore, the specific
digital engineering CPBL-based curriculum will be presented including a schedule with
embedded in-class design projects, inquiry based exercises, interactive exercises, and periodic
assessments. The authors will also share lessons learned about strategies for designing and
conducting effective activities, including grading strategies and classroom management. Data on
the impact of CPBL on student learning outcomes will also be presented.