Student performance in first year, mathematics, and physics courses: Implications for success in the study of electrical and computer engineering

Abstract

Abstract-Mathematics and physics courses are recognized as a crucial foundation for the study of engineering, and often are prerequisite courses for the basic engineering curriculum. But how does performance in these prerequisite courses affect student performance in engineering courses?This study evaluated the relationship between grades in prerequisite math and physics courses and grades in subsequent electrical engineering courses. Where significant relationships were found, additional analysis was conducted to determine minimum grade goals for the prerequisite courses. Relationships were found between five course pairs: calculus II and differential equations; calculus II and physics I (mechanics); physics II (electricity and optics) and circuits analysis II; physics II (electricity and optics) and signals and systems; and circuits analysis II and signals and systems. The results indicate that a grade of C+ or higher in calculus II, and a grade of B-or higher in physics II and circuits analysis II will lead to higher grades in subsequent mathematics, circuits, and signals and systems courses. This information will be used to aid faculty in making decisions about imposing minimum grade requirements.

Using Grades in Core Curriculum Chain Courses as Predictors of Academic Performance in Subsequent Courses: A Study at Qatar University

“…Results from the conditional probability approach and ordinal regression have confirmed that when a student receives a C in a link, they will have the exact probability of getting either DFW or ABC in the next link within the chain. Simpson and Fernandez’s (2014) results are nearly comparable with this result’s findings that C+ is an indication grade for getting higher grades in the subsequent course.…”

“…Krause-Levy et al (2020) found that in the organizational behavior course, the grade in the prerequisite was positively related to subsequent performance. Simpson and Fernandez (2014) investigated how mathematics and physics (prerequisite courses) overall scores affect the subsequent electrical and computer engineering (ECE) courses at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In addition, they examined how Calculus (I) overall scores affect student performance in Calculus (II).…”

Board 77 : Work in Progress: An Analysis of Correlations in Student Performance in Core Technical Courses at a Large Public Research Institution’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

“…Simpson and Fernandez performed research on a dataset that is similar to the one presented in this paper to identify if strong correlations exist between students' grades during their early semesters and their corresponding performance in mid-level engineering courses. They used a linear correlation instead of a monotonic correlation, as presented in this paper, but found the same conclusion of prerequisite course performance having a strong correlation with the performance in the requisite course [6]. Similar conclusions are found by Hwang, Yu, Su and Tseng [7] in their research on undergraduate students who participated in programming courses, through the use of fuzzy logic association rules.…”

An Overview of Teaching Physics for Undergraduates in Engineering Environments

“…Simpson and Fernandez [130] analyzed student performance in first-year math and physics courses in the study of electrical and computer engineering (ECE). They focused on answering the question: "how does performance in these prerequisite courses affect student performance in engineering courses?"…”