Grant recipients:
Mingqian (John) Zhang, Cheryl Newton, Jason Grove, Mark Pritzker, and Marios Ioannidis, Department of Chemical Engineering
(Project timeline: May 2018-April 2019)
Description
This project is aimed to investigate the impact of a project-based engineering laboratory on enhancing teaching and learning in engineering laboratory courses. The project-based laboratory is delivered by in-depth experiential learning where students work on open-ended design projects that mimic real-world situations with set timeframes and constraints. The authentic design component is intended to stimulate student interest and motivation towards deep learning through hands-on experiments and ensure enhanced learning outcomes. The lab course involved in this project includes both the project-based laboratory and traditional laboratories that are otherwise delivered by a more traditional teaching method, providing an ideal platform to conduct comparative and quantitative assessment of the effects of the project-based laboratory and its instructional method on student learning outcomes in accordance with the learning outcomes of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) and the Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations (UDLEs).
Questions Investigated
Two primary questions investigated in this study are: (1) whether an open-ended projectbased laboratory with a practical design is sufficient to motivate students toward deep learning through laboratory course and so achieve high-level design-related learning outcomes, and (2) whether a hybrid lab course of both traditional laboratory and projectbased laboratory can be efficient, effective, and sustainable. The intended purpose of teaching enhancement are also two-fold: (i) to develop an effective teaching and assessment methodology to deliver the unique open-ended project-based laboratory, and (ii) to design an efficient, effective, and sustainable pedagogy design for a engineering laboratory course of both traditional laboratories and project-based laboratory (studentscentered experiential learning). The major motivation is to enhance the learning experience of students in an engineering lab course and fulfill all required learning outcomes specified by CEAB and UDLEs in a single laboratory as well as develop students with high-level engineering skills.
Findings/Insights
Some of the major findings and insights obtained from this project are as follows:
1. The traditional laboratory based on behaviorist learning is both effective and efficient in enhancing knowledge acquisition, particularly for content-intensive lab contents and learning outcomes.
2. The unique project-based laboratory based on constructivist learning and couple with an authentic design, is more effective in fulfilling high-level learning outcomes such as “investigation”, “design”, and “lifelong learning, and develop students with high level engineering skills such as “problem-solving”, “critical and creative thinking”.
3. The formative instruction and assessment methodology for the PBL, focusing on promoting student interest using real-world design and providing timely and constructive feedback, proves to be effective in enhance deep learning and high-level skill development, and has brought about high-level student satisfaction toward laboratory course.
4. The results of this study and student feedback from the survey suggest that a hybrid course with balanced traditional laboratory and project-based laboratory could be a more effective, efficient, and sustainable learning pedagogy for engineering laboratory courses.
Dissemination
1. Findings were presented at UWTL19.
2. A full research paper was submitted and published in Education for Chemical Engineers. It can be found HERE.
3. The results of this study help set a standard for future laboratory teaching improvement in terms of enhancing student learning and developing effective laboratory teaching practice.
4. The results of this study have helped the department to redesign lab courses for the new curriculum, mainly a hybrid course at junior level and all open-ended project-based at senior level. This pedagogical design will allow students to get an initial feel for the open-ended lab at junior level and make a smooth transition to senior lab courses of all project-based laboratories.
5. The hybrid course design and the formative instruction and assessment method could be an excellent lab teaching method, and should provide an excellent pedagogy design for other departments that implement the open-ended labs.