Abstract:

Concept maps are a valuable tool in presenting engineering subjects since they help students develop a good overview of the associated topics and the interrelations among them. A rather difficult topic for students to grasp is electromagnetic waves due to the multiple types and domains of electromagnetic propagation (e.g. waves in an infinite space loss-free or not, guided waves of transverse electromagnetic (TEM), transverse electric (TE), transverse magnetic (TM) or hybrid type etc.) that, to make things more complex, are usually addressed in different contexts and courses.
Given the above, the paper proposes a teaching scenario for a 2-hour lecture presenting the various types of electromagnetic waves with the aid of concept maps. The lecture is included in the 6th-semester course “Optical Communications” offered at the Dept. of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Educators of the School of Pedagogical & Technological Education (ASPETE), Athens, Greece. The lecture takes place in the last week of the course in order students to have already encountered the basic types of electromagnetic waves and, also, have the opportunity to address the main types of electromagnetic waves in a unified manner.
More specifically, concept maps are used to present interrelations and application domains regarding the following types of electromagnetic waves:
• Waves in an infinite space either loss-free or with losses.
• Guided TEM waves in structures such as metallic slab waveguides, transmission lines etc.
• Guided TE and TM waves in structures such as microwave or optical waveguides.
• Guided hybrid (HE or EH) waves in structures such as optical fibers.
From the coming academic year, the students will be also encouraged to work on the relevant concepts maps by themselves in order to become capable of using concept maps either regarding other topics of their studies or, in the future, as school educators.

Keywords:

Engineering Education, Electrical Engineering Education, Electromagnetic Waves, Concept Maps.