I/O Diagrams - The Basic Idea

Input/Output Diagrams are central to many courses in the Electrical and Computer Engineering curriculum.
In an effort to synchronize courses and topics, the ECE department has developed a set of input/output diagrams for each of the courses in its curriculum.

The input/output diagram for each course lists input topics which are covered by the prerequisite chain for the course and are assumed to be understood by students entering the course.

Output topics are assumed to be understood by the students taking courses further down the requisite chain.

Each input/output diagram lists the important concepts covered in each course and lists the hardware and software tools that are employed in the teaching of the course.

This narrative is presented in the form of the input/output diagram below. The diagram for each course is linked from the Courses page.

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IN

  • Input topics are covered in the prerequisite chain
  • Assumed to be understood
  • Not covered in the course except in a cursory review

Basic Idea

Courses in the curriculum should be matched so that all required inputs correspnd to outputs from prerequisite courses.

  • I/O Diagrams are concrete enough to ensure quality and consistency of purpose
  • Flexible enough to accommodate new fashions, technologies, designs, science, pedagogy, etc.
  • No course in the curriculum should assume an input that is not an absolute output of at least one other course in its prerequisite chain.
  • Redundancy should be managed by ensuring that courses do not have highly redundant outputs
  • The I/O Diagrams are living documents, under the control of faculty groups and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
  • Posted on the ECE website
Application of I/O Diagrams
  • Faculty use them to guide curriculum development and delivery.
  • Students know what they know.
  • Employers know what our students know.
  • Department knows what interconnects need to be better managed, what redundancies need to be managed, etc.
  • Revised in course groups on a 3 year rotating schedule or at request of faculty group.
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OUT

  • Output topics are covered in depth in 10 weeks, meaning 10/14 weeks of course is proscribed
  • The remaining 4 weeks of course are devoted to topics of instructor choice
  • A C student understands output topics and an A student has master them
  • Each ouptut topic can be counted on as an input to any course for which this course is a prerequisite
  • It is assumed that these output topics are the topics that will be tested for in the course
  • Outputs are generally of two varieties: “understandings” and “can doings.”
  • Optional topics, denoted with asterisks, may be drawn from at discretion of instructor.

Last updated: 02/27/09