Experienced Students' Errors in Electrical Engineering

This Work-in-Progress (WIP) Research paper presents the results of the first stage of a study whose main goal is to understand the misconceptions of experienced students, consequently, to increase the efficiency of the teaching process. The support course for the study, "The use of electrical energy", is taught in the 3rd year of B.Sc., Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and it consists of lectures and laboratory lessons. Throughout the laboratory part the students learn how to realize simple electrical schemes, supply different types of loads and measure the main parameters of the electrical energy: voltage, current and active power. During the evaluation tests, the students have to draw and assemble electrical schemes that are combinations or simplifications of the ones already learned. Regardless of the test subject, all students were asked the question: "To measure active power one will obtain the same value using a voltmeter plus ammeter and a wattmeter?" The qualitative method was used for the study, so the main research tools were the observations on students' explanations during the practical exam. The results of the research show that many experienced students have a misconception regarding the measure of active power, and this fact is strongly connected with the lack of theoretical knowledge that they have.