Industrial Engineering Letters www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-6096 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0581 (online) Vol.5, No.10, 2015 36 Strategies for Improving the Teaching and Learning of Electrical and Electronics Subjects in Technical Colleges Dr. James E. Ogbu Department of Technology and Vocational Education, Ebonyi State University, PMB 053 Abakaliki, Nigeria Abstract This study investigated the strategies for improving the teaching and learning of electrical and electronic subjects in Ebonyi State technical colleges. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The research design adopted for the study was survey. A sample of 240 was randomly drawn from a total population of 775 teachers and students of electrical and electronics in Ebonyi State technical colleges. A four-point response scale validated structured question was the instrument used for data collection with a reliability coefficient of 0.92 internal consistency. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while student t-test statistic was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Twenty and eleven potent strategies respectively were found for improving teaching and learning of electrical and electronics subjects in Ebonyi State technical colleges. It was then recommended that all these potent strategies should be implemented immediately in other to improve the teaching and learning of electrical and electronics subjects in Ebonyi State technical colleges in Nigeria. Keywords: Strategies, improving, teaching, electrical and electronics, colleges 1. Introduction Electrical and electronic subjects are offered in Ebonyi State technical colleges to train students in both theories and practices of electrical and electronics technology at sub-professional level as craftsmen and technicians. According to FGN (2004) electrical and electronics trade subjects principally include (1) electrical installation and maintenance work (2) Radio, television and electronics work. Some diverse practical contents deal with appliances repairs both in domestic and industrial premises where electrical and electronics systems operate. NBTE (2001) and NABTEB (2004) gave details of electrical and electronics engineering trade subjects taught in Nigerian technical colleges as follows: (1) Domestic and industrial installation (2) cable jointing and repairs (3) battery charging and repairs (4) winding of electrical machines (5) Basic electricity (6) electrical electronic drawing and calculations (7) radio communications and services (8) television services and repairs (9) electronic devices and circuits. In most technical colleges, these subjects are grouped into two to reflect the faculties of electrical engineering and electronics engineering from where the trades emanated. Each group is taught and administered as a separate department in most Nigerian technical colleges. The first department handle field of physical science and technology concerned with the phenomena of electric charge, current, power and energy, and thereby called electrical department. The second department handles study of the properties and behaviour of electrons under all conditions especially with reference to technical and industrial application; and thereby called electronics department (R/TV). Electronics is also defined as the study and application of electrons and devices which operate by controlling the flow of electrons through them. Electronics can also be seen as devices which require the flow of electrons through conductors and semi-conductors in other to perform their functions. Anaemena (2000), stated that apart from the mass and charge of an electron, its other properties are highly paradoxical. This contradictory properties, behaviours and characteristics of electrons makes electrical and electronics subjects’ teaching and learning very hazy, clumsy and sometimes confusing. Electrical and electronic systems being propelled by the invisible forces of electrons, charged particles of all sorts and electric current have their teaching and learning involving a great deal of mental abstractions, scientific ideals and technical skills on the part of both teachers and students. Based on the above high demands on teaching and learning processes of electrical and electronics subjects at the face of grave importance of electrical and electronics in the globalized civilized world, there is great need to improve the teaching and learning of electricity and electronics subjects at technical college level. Anaemena (2001) greatly emphasized the importance of electricity and electronics in the present globalized civilized world and went ahead to mention some few applications as follows: usage in simple photoelectric relay, radios, television, radar, facsimiles, automatic gates, auto-vigilant door controls, complex computer systems, earoplane and spaceship controls, automatic control of industrial production line, and guidance control systems for missiles and all nuclear systems. Indeed electronics spans all academic disciplines and is important in medical research, geological explorations, geodesy, all branches of engineering, production control, quality control, aircraft design and operation, space exploration and the satellite