  In this exploratory qualitative study, we describe instructors' self-reported
practices for teaching and assessing students' ability to troubleshoot in
electronics lab courses. We collected audio data from interviews with 20
electronics instructors from 18 institutions that varied by size, selectivity,
and other factors. In addition to describing participants' instructional
practices, we characterize their perceptions about the role of troubleshooting
in electronics, the importance of the ability to troubleshoot more generally,
and what it means for students to be competent troubleshooters. One major
finding of this work is that, while almost all instructors in our study said
that troubleshooting is an important learning outcome for students in
electronics lab courses, only half of instructors said they directly assessed
students' ability to troubleshoot. Based on our findings, we argue that there
is a need for research-based instructional materials that attend to both
cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of troubleshooting proficiency. We also
identify several areas for future investigation related to troubleshooting
instruction in electronics lab courses.
