scholarly journals Exposing Sophomore Students to Engineering Design Using an Innovative Project-Based Learning Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Samandari ◽  
Banafsheh Seyed-Aghazadeh
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Innovative Project

Evaluation of a Model Based Learning Approach for Engineering Design

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjell Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Machine Design ◽  
Project Work ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Model Based

Project-based education in combination with problem-based learning has been very successful, and has contributed to the popularity of engineering design education among students at technical universities. The close connection to industrial problems by the use of industry-connected projects has boosted this popularity still further and to get an insight of future working environments after graduation is very inspiring for the students. The curriculum of the Machine Design capstone course at KTH Department of Machine Design covers the whole process from idea generation to manufacturing and testing a final prototype. A major part of the course consists of project work where students develop a product prototype in close cooperation with an industrial partner or with a research project at the department. This means that a major part of the course uses project-based learning as a teaching strategy. In addition, a model-based design methodology is introduced which enables the students to evaluate and “experience” many different behaviors of the product using digital models in a virtual environment. In this way, students can see that many undesirable concepts and flaws can be avoided even before a prototype is manufactured. This paper evaluates the use and learning outcome of model-based design in a capstone course in the Engineering Design MSc program at KTH Department of Machine Design. The approach has been used during a period of three years and the effect on the students’ learning has been evaluated by a questionnaire after each course. I this paper we compare the results of these questionnaires and discuss implications and general conclusions about this learning approach.

scholarly journals Ipsative learning: a personal approach to a student's experience of PBL within an integrated engineering design cornerstone module

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Tilley ◽  
John E. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Personal Approach ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Engineering Programme

The Faculty of Engineering Science atUniversity College London (UCL) has recently undergonea reform of the undergraduate curriculum, which resultedin the creation of a distinctive programme that connectedcurriculums from across seven engineering disciplines.The Integrated Engineering Programme is extensive,taking in nearly 700 students in its inaugural year at thestart of the autumn 2014 term. Its most significantcontributions are the experiential and authentic learningopportunities it provides students allowing them to applytheir technical knowledge and develop their professionalskills in engineering design modules year on year. Thefirst opportunity for students to do this is within thecornerstone Integrated Engineering Design module inyear I. This paper seeks to investigate the impact of anipsative learning approach (feedback and assessment thatis based on learner’s progress) within this multidisciplinaryproblem/project-based learning environment(PBL/PjBL), which focuses learning outcomes on thestudent’s ability to engage with the process of engineeringdesign. The methods of conducting the research includethe analysis of reflective writings by each studentthroughout the first of two 5-week ‘Challenge’ projects. Aset of reflections written by each student was associatedwith two formative assessment meetings, referred to asDesign Review Meetings, held with their academic leader.This data is also supplemented with verbal feedbackprovided by students and academics, which has beenprovided during follow up interviews and focus groups.Student self reflections written after each of the twomeetings support common theses of increasedunderstanding of the project aims and depth of studentresearch efforts. Surprisingly, however is the evidence,which implies that an ipsative PBL environmentempowers students to make critical personal andengineering decisions for effective progression within anengineering design project.

scholarly journals Mechatronics: Experiential Learning and the Stimulation of Thinking Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Maki K. Habib ◽  
Fusaomi Nagata ◽  
Keigo Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Experimental Systems

The development of experiential learning methodologies is gaining attention, due to its contributions to enhancing education quality. It focuses on developing competencies, and build-up added values, such as creative and critical thinking skills, with the aim of improving the quality of learning. The interdisciplinary mechatronics field accommodates a coherent interactive concurrent design process that facilitates innovation and develops the desired skills by adopting experiential learning approaches. This educational learning process is motivated by implementation, assessment, and reflections. This requires synergizing cognition, perception, and behavior with experience sharing and evaluation. Furthermore, it is supported by knowledge accumulation. The learning process with active student’s engagement (participation and investigation) is integrated with experimental systems that are developed to facilitate experiential learning supported by properly designed lectures, laboratory experiments, and integrated with course projects. This paper aims to enhance education, learning quality, and contribute to the learning process, while stimulating creative and critical thinking skills. The paper has adopted a student-centered learning approach and focuses on developing training tools to improve the hands-on experience and integrate it with project-based learning. The developed experimental systems have their learning indicators where students acquire knowledge and learn the target skills through involvement in the process. This is inspired by collaborative knowledge sharing, brainstorming, and interactive discussions. The learning outcomes from lectures and laboratory experiments are synergized with the project-based learning approach to yield the desired promising results and exhibit the value of learning. The effectiveness of the developed experimental systems along with the adopted project-based learning approach is demonstrated and evaluated during laboratory sessions supporting different courses at Sanyo-Onoda City University, Yamaguchi, Japan, and at the American University in Cairo.

AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING APPROACH FOR DEVELOPING MENTAL MODELS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN EDUCATION

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Li ◽  
C. Chua
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Support Engineering ◽  
Prior Experiences

Mental simulation represents how a person interprets and understands the causal relations associated with the perceived information, and it is considered an important cognitive device to support engineering design activities. Mental models are considered information characterized in a person’s mind to understand the external world. They are important components to support effective mental simulation. This paper begins with a discussion on the experiential learning approach and how it supports learners in developing mental models for design activities. Following that, the paper looks at the four types of mental models: object, making, analysis and project, and illustrates how they capture different aspects and skills of design activities. Finally, the paper proposes an alternative framework, i.e., Spiral Learning Approach, which is an integration of Kolb’s experiential learningcycle and the Imaginative Education (IE) framework. While the Kolb’s cycle informs a pattern to leverage personal experiences to reusable knowledge, the IE’s framework suggests how prior experiences can trigger imagination and advance understandings. A hypothetical design of a snow removal device is used to illustrate the ideas of design-related mental models and the spirallearning approach.

Using DIME maps and STEM project-based learning to teach physics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Rugh ◽  
Donald J. Beyette ◽  
Mary Margaret Capraro ◽  
Robert M. Capraro
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Engineering Design Process

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine a week-long science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) activity that integrates a new educational technology and the engineering design process to teach middle and high school students the concepts involved in rotational physics. The technology and teaching method described in this paper can be applied to a wide variety of STEM content areas. Design/methodology/approach As an educational technology, the dynamic and interactive mathematical expressions (DIME) map system automatically generates an interactive, connected concept map of mathematically based concepts extracted from a portable document format textbook chapter. Over five days, students used DIME maps to engage in meaningful self-guided learning within the engineering design process and STEM PBL. Findings Using DIME maps within a STEM PBL activity, students explored the physics behind spinning objects, proposed multiple creative designs and built a variety of spinners to meet specified criteria and constraints. Practical implications STEM teachers can use DIME maps and STEM PBL to support their students in making connections between what they learn in the classroom and real-world scenarios. Social implications For any classroom with computers, tablets or phones and an internet connection, DIME maps are an accessible educational technology that provides an alternative representation of knowledge for learners who are underserved by traditional methods of instruction. Originality/value For STEM teachers and education researchers, the activity described in this paper uses advances in technology (DIME maps and slow-motion video capture on cell phones) and pedagogy (STEM PBL and the engineering design process) to enable students to engage in meaningful learning.

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