Applied Sciences (Sep 2024)
An Effective Concept for Teaching LabVIEW Programming to Engineering Students
Abstract
In today’s technology-driven era, the demand for engineers with strong programming skills continues to rise across diverse industries. LabVIEW software stands out as a key tool in engineering, supporting applications ranging from test and measurement systems to automation and control across different sectors, like manufacturing, aerospace, and automotive. Proficiency in LabVIEW therefore enables engineers to work on a wide range of projects and applications. This article presents two distinct pedagogical approaches to teaching LabVIEW programming at the university level. The introductory course is taught using traditional direct teaching methods, with an emphasis on face-to-face teaching and classroom lectures. In contrast, the advanced course uses a flipped classroom model, where students work independently on preparatory material before participating in laboratory exercises. The latter course concludes with a large project, which the student must complete within four hours. The article provides details on the teaching methods and content of the individual courses, as well as an explanation of the assessment process for the final project. The analysis of the final project results confirms that the students have acquired the knowledge necessary to create functional LabVIEW programs with the appropriate programming style.
Keywords