Assigning homework problems from the textbook is an easy task, and as is often the case in life, it is of less value and poorly effective. The problem with this easy strategy is the lack of feedback obtained by students. In fact, students can access the solutions to the assigned problems usually one week after the submission of their work. By this time, they are engaged in a new assignment, and they do not have time to compare their previous work to the solutions provided by the instructor.

On the other hand, if the instructor creates and tests simulation-based assignments, this takes a significant amount of time and effort. Again, as is often the case in life, this approach is highly valuable and effective. The reason is that students can now compare their theoretical work with the simulation outcome. This way, they obtain immediate feedback while executing the assignment. In fact, if there is a match between theoretical prediction and simulation outcome, they know that their work is correct. On the contrary, in case of no match between theory and simulation, they realize that they have not grabbed completely some concepts or techniques, and they can thereby improve their knowledge by consulting with their peers or with the instructor.

In this paper, we illustrate the teaching methodology of developing simulation-based assignments with examples taken from the SUNY New Paltz course EGE311 Signals and Systems. The explanations associated with these examples are qualitative, not quantitative. The emphasis of this paper is on the impact of the teaching strategy, not on the engineering content, which makes the explanations adequate for an audience interested in education even if they possess no engineering background. We assess the effectiveness of developed simulation-based assignments by comparing the performance of student classes who experienced or did not experience this teaching strategy.

Keywords: Enhancing learning and the undergraduate experience, Pedagogical Innovation.