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Lesson plan

Portfolio and interviews lesson plan

Turn finished projects into a job search: choose and document portfolio pieces, share links that run, read job posts and answer technical questions out loud.

3 chapters, 6 lessons, about 3 hours, no board. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install.

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The unit

Objectives and materials

By the end, students can

  • Pick projects that prove skills, and write them up with numbers.
  • Read a job post for what it really asks, and answer technical questions out loud.
  • One circuit, finished as a portfolio piece from first test to shared link.

Materials for the whole unit

  • Capacitor
  • Diode
  • Full-size breadboard
  • LED
  • Light sensor
  • Multimeter x 2
  • Resistor x 2
  • Signal generator
  • Slide switch
  • Transistor (NPN or PNP)

Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too.

Chapter 1. About 1 h 30 min

Your portfolio

Pick projects that prove skills, and write them up with numbers.

LessonTimeWhat students do
Choosing portfolio projectsWhat a good portfolio piece proves, why a small finished project beats a big unfinished one, and how to pick three projects that each show a different skill, starting from one resistor you can measure.30 min
  1. What a portfolio is for
  2. Prove the first number
  3. Show you can change it on purpose
  4. Find the limit, and say so
  5. Pick three, each a different skill
Documenting a build: schematic, code and a demoThe four parts of a write-up anyone can follow: what it does, the schematic, the code and a demo with numbers. Practice on a voltage divider, recording each design change as a row in a test table.30 min
  1. The four parts of a write-up
  2. The first row of the test table
  3. A change, with a reason
  4. Test the other direction
  5. Write the page
Sharing a Mokxi project linkWhy a link that runs beats a photo, how to check a project works for a stranger before you send it, and how to put the link where people will click it. Practiced on a light sensor divider with readings for light and dark.30 min
  1. A link that runs beats a photo
  2. Check it runs from a fresh open
  3. Demo the dark case
  4. Demo the bright case
  5. Share it and put the link to work

Materials

  • Full-size breadboard
  • Light sensor
  • Multimeter
  • Resistor x 2

Check for understanding

Each student finishes "Sharing a Mokxi project link" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 5 of its 5 steps as they go.

Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Share it and put the link to work".

Chapter 2. About 1 h

The job search

Read a job post for what it really asks, and answer technical questions out loud.

LessonTimeWhat students do
Reading a job postSplit a job post into must-haves and nice-to-haves, turn each requirement into something you can show, and make a gap list. Practiced on the classic line: measure voltage and current, and apply Ohm's law.30 min
  1. Must-haves and nice-to-haves
  2. Skill one: measure voltage
  3. Skill two: measure current
  4. Skill three: apply Ohm's law
  5. Make a gap list
The technical interviewHow technical interviews usually run and how to answer out loud: predict, reason, then check. Three classic questions about a power supply, each answered on the bench, plus what to say when you do not know.30 min
  1. Think out loud
  2. Question 1: what is the output?
  3. Question 2: what if the capacitor is too small?
  4. Question 3: what if the load draws more?
  5. When you do not know

Materials

  • Capacitor
  • Diode
  • Full-size breadboard
  • LED
  • Multimeter x 2
  • Resistor
  • Signal generator

Check for understanding

Each student finishes "The technical interview" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 5 of its 5 steps as they go.

Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "When you do not know".

Chapter 3. About 35 min

The boss

One circuit, finished as a portfolio piece from first test to shared link.

LessonTimeWhat students do
Boss: your portfolio pieceTurn one circuit into a finished portfolio piece: prove it works, measure it, redesign it on purpose, show its failure mode, then write it up and share the link. A transistor switching an LED, checked at every stage.35 min
  1. The brief
  2. Result 1: it switches
  3. Result 2: measure the load
  4. Result 3: a redesign on purpose
  5. Result 4: show the failure mode
  6. Write it up and share it

Materials

  • Full-size breadboard
  • LED
  • Resistor x 2
  • Slide switch
  • Transistor (NPN or PNP)

Check for understanding

Each student finishes "Boss: your portfolio piece" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go.

Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Write it up and share it".

Your class

Teach this unit as a class

Start a class from this course and its 6 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you.

The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way.

Start a class from this courseSee the demo class
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