Teacher education
Use a selected course topic to strengthen your own explanation of chip architecture. Keep a vocabulary list and record one question you still need to investigate.
SILICA SPARKS’ TEACHER LEARNING LAB
Learn the science.
Lead the next discovery.
Build your own semiconductor understanding, then help another educator teach it with confidence. Start with system-on-chip thinking and connect your learning to Micro’s mission.
Teacher education Train the trainer Grades 9–16 pathways
FEATURED EXTERNAL LEARNING / SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGN
ECE 695R: System-on-Chip Design
Anand Raghunathan · Purdue University · hosted by nanoHUB
Explore how a system’s needs become a chip architecture: define what it must do, decide which work belongs in hardware or software, connect the parts and examine performance, power and validation.
The source course describes the design work that comes before RTL, gates, transistors and wires. It is labeled Fall 2014. Review the selected material and tool references before using it in a current class.
External resource: nanoHUB controls course access and enrollment. Account requirements, current availability, duration, prerequisites and cost should be confirmed there. This Academy page provides an original learning companion; it does not reproduce nanoHUB lectures or certify course completion.
Choose your teaching pathway
Grades 9–12 bridge
Adapt one idea into a simple block diagram for Micro: sensing, processing, memory and communication. Keep the university material as teacher background and choose student excerpts only after review.
College / Grades 13–16 extension
Explore architecture trade-offs and verification questions in more depth. Check learners’ preparation against the actual course before assigning technical work.
These are Academy-suggested pathways, not nanoHUB-stated grade bands. The course overview does not establish suitability for every high-school or undergraduate learner.
ACADEMY TRAIN-THE-TRAINER COMPANION
Learn → Model → Teach → Reflect
Use this flexible cycle with a colleague or professional learning group. Choose a manageable topic from the source course; the timings below are suggested workshop timings, not the course duration.
1. Learn: investigate one idea
Read or watch a selected source item. Note its creator and title, then explain the idea in your own words. Identify assumptions, unfamiliar terms and what the source does not answer.
2. Model: connect it to Micro
In a suggested 15-minute discussion, ask: “What must Micro’s chip help the rover do?” Draw blocks for inputs, processing, memory and outputs. Explain that a system-on-chip can integrate multiple functions; a block diagram is a conceptual model, not a fabricated layout.
3. Teach: lead a peer mini-lesson
In a suggested 10-minute teach-back, have a colleague choose one function for hardware or software and explain the trade-off. Ask how they would check that the design meets a requirement. Provide the question in writing and accept a spoken, typed or drawn explanation.
4. Reflect: collect evidence and improve
Ask your colleague to explain one choice without your help. Compare that explanation with the requirement. Record a misconception, an accessibility improvement and one next step before using the activity with learners.
Planning prompts only. No trainer credential, professional-development hours or ADE endorsement is awarded by this page.
Bring it back to the Academy mission
Start with a requirement, explain a design decision and ask what evidence would verify it. Our existing Design Flow mission provides an introductory bridge into these questions.
Arizona alignment is reviewed at the activity level. A course link alone does not demonstrate coverage of Arizona Semiconductor Manufacturing 15.0616.00 or practical manufacturing competency. Electronic Design Automation is distinct from manufacturing automation.
Sources and responsible reuse
Featured source: Anand Raghunathan, ECE 695R: System-on-Chip Design , Purdue University, nanoHUB, Fall 2014. Course overview and licensing policy reviewed November 4, 2026. Academy summaries and teaching prompts on this page are original; no course media, slides or downloads are hosted here.
nanoHUB encourages Creative Commons licensing, but permissions must be checked for each resource. Before adapting or redistributing an item, record its license, attribution requirements and any noncommercial or share-alike restrictions. An embed or download option alone does not establish reuse rights.