World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education 2002 UICEE

Vol.1, No.2, 2002

Project-Based Learning (PBL) in a course on mechanisms and machine dynamics

Sven K. Esche
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, United States of America

ABSTRACT: Currently, engineering education is undergoing significant changes worldwide. The educational community is showing
increasing interest in Project-Based Learning (PBL) approaches, which promise to lead to heightened student motivation, stimulate
student self-learning and promote communication skills. Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), Hoboken, USA, is currently
transforming all its educational offerings. Several courses were selected for pilot implementations of PBL methodologies. This paper
presents an initial assessment of the experiences gained from the revision of a junior-level mechanical engineering course on
mechanisms and machine dynamics. The centrepiece of this revised course is a group design project that aims at developing a
realistic product.

INTRODUCTION various types of academic institutions and throughout the

different phases of the educational programmes. This is
Currently, engineering education is undergoing significant witnessed by a continuously expanding body of related
structural changes. The rapidly evolving technological information in the educational literature, some of which is
landscape forces educators to constantly reassess the content of briefly summarised below.
engineering curricula in the context of emerging fields and
with a multidisciplinary focus. In this process, it is necessary to Roedel et al developed a freshman course that combines and
devise, implement and evaluate innovative pedagogical integrates material from introductory courses in calculus,
approaches for the incorporation of novel subjects into physics, English composition and engineering, whereby
educational programmes without compromising the cultivation engineering projects were used to teach design and modelling
of traditional skills. The educational community is showing principles [5]. Lopez implemented a series of small team-based
rapidly rising interest in Project-Based Learning (PBL) design projects into a manufacturing course to strengthen the
approaches. ties between theory and practice [6]. Weller et al implemented
a project-based manufacturing laboratory that culminates in the
Felder and his co-workers developed an Index of Learning manufacturing of a functional Stirling engine [7]. Sener applied
Styles as an instrument that can classify different dimensions of PBL to construction engineering and opined that, in contrast to
learning [1][2]. While the traditional lecture-based teaching traditional lectures that mainly convey information, this
approach is considered as conducive only to certain learning approach leads to knowledge, which is gained by using
styles, design projects are recognised as a means of providing information for particular applications [8]. Rubino presented
the student with broad context to the particular body of the implementation of PBL into a freshman engineering
information presented in the lectures, and thus these projects technology course [9]. Genalo discussed the application of a
are likely to be especially effective for global learners. PBL approach for teaching design of experiments in the
Furthermore, students are encouraged to assume responsibility framework of a materials science course [10]. Haik reported
for their learning experience and to shift from passive to more the development of an engineering mechanics course based on
active learning patterns. This is likely to improve knowledge a term project that also involved building the designed product
retention as well as the ability to integrate material from [11]. Adams discussed the enhancement of a statistical quality
different courses. In addition, by adopting a project-based control course by incorporating projects that synthesise the
teaching approach, the teacher is enabled to create a more information presented in the lecture and aim at solidifying and
cohesive course structure, where the course moves more fluidly expanding the students’ understanding of the material covered
from topic to topic [3]. Brown and Brown traced the roots of [12]. Rasheed et al applied a project-based self-instruction
project-based education back to the early 1980s and discussed approach to a course on multimedia production [13]. Miner et al
its critical attributes [4]. used projects as the vehicle to introduce students to the FEM, as
well as a means to enhance the students’ enthusiasm for their
Over the last few years, project-based instruction has rapidly major [14][15]. Newell and Shedd discussed the implementation
gained acceptance by the educational community and is now of team projects into a heat transfer course and compared their
being applied in a wide spectrum of engineering disciplines, at method with the traditional teaching approach [16]. McCreanor

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adopted a PBL format in a hydraulics course and used a just in As was discussed by Eder, engineering practice does not
time teaching mode that kept the students focused on why they simply represent applied science but rather involves societal,
were learning a certain topic [17]. aesthetic, legal, economic, marketing, management and
coordinating considerations [26][27]. In acknowledging this
Richardson et al emphasised that projects can serve as a reality, Walker et al developed real-life projects for a course in
powerful tool for attracting students to and retaining them in environmental engineering that were designed not only as a
engineering programmes by demonstrating the diversity of method to foster teamwork and improve open-ended problem-
skills needed to practice engineering [18]. Similarly, Wood and solving skills but also enhanced students’ understanding of
Craft reported a dramatic improvement in student retention of societal impacts and contemporary issues [28].
an engineering technology programme through the introduction
of PBL [19]. Going one step further than the above- In recognising the importance of students’ awareness about
summarised implementations, Wood describes an entire non-technical issues for their future professional success in the
engineering technology curriculum for the freshmen year corporate environment, it was decided in the course revision
where mathematics, science, technology and communications described here to focus the projects to be developed on the
are taught in an integrated fashion using group projects [20]. In design of specific products, which included a variety of
a similar development, Clark et al presented the design, business considerations. A similar approach had been taken
implementation and evaluation of an entire project-based earlier by Ross, who designed a course where students
curriculum for chemical engineering that addresses a series of participated as employees of a fictitious design company. The
shortcomings of traditional curricula [21]. student teams explored the imperfections of actual systems and
the design tradeoffs related to existing products and finally
Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT), Hoboken, USA, is created their own product designs [29]. This product-oriented
currently in a phase of dynamic transformations of all its approach ensures the open-ended nature of the projects and
educational offerings in light of an institute-wide strategic requires students to make certain assumptions relating to the
initiative. As part of this restructuring, a new undergraduate product to be designed on their own. It complements the
engineering curriculum was recently implemented that reflects analysis activities typically associated with traditional, lecture
the latest trend towards innovative pedagogies. Several courses and homework-centred courses not only with the synthesis-type
were selected for pilot implementations of PBL methodologies, tasks involved in the more traditional, well defined design
and this paper discusses the related revision of a junior-level projects with narrower scope, but also trains students in the
mechanical engineering course on mechanisms and machine integrative thinking used for reflecting on and evaluating
dynamics and a preliminary assessment of the outcomes. existing alternatives. By aiming the projects at the design of an
actual product, they were made relatively complex, thus
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE REVISION requiring true teamwork and efficient communication and
helping to impart skills and strategies associated with
Previously, the course was taught with two 75-minute lectures collaborative planning, executing and monitoring of project
and one 3-hour lab per week for a total of three academic progress. The interdisciplinary nature of the projects was
credits. The syllabus followed the standard sequence of topics introduced in order to overcome the compartmentalisation of
that have traditionally been part of similar courses nationwide. knowledge that often results from students taking various
A more detailed description of the course outline and a courses on what appears to them as being disconnected subjects
discussion of the performance criteria used in the assessment of and thus failing to realise their interconnectedness. Therefore,
the related learning outcomes was given elsewhere [22]. In this educational model attempts to reflect the realities of the
addition, a portion of the laboratory component has recently corporate work environment.
been based on remotely accessible experimental set-ups [23-
25]. In this particular course, a fair number of analytical tools COURSE STRUCTURE AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION
need to be introduced before students can be engaged in
synthesis-based design activities that tend to better resonate In the revised course, the total number of contact hours
with students’ preferred mode of knowledge acquisition. In remained unchanged. Also, the general technical topics that
previous offerings of the course, this often led to insufficient were covered previously were not altered in the revised
student motivation for acquiring analysis skills and an ensuing version. The course content was organised into six 2-week
lack of prerequisite skills for meeting the analytical challenges educational modules that essentially corresponded to the
involved in design projects towards the end of the course. principal subjects. The amount of traditional homework
problems assigned was reduced approximately by half. The
At the outset of the course revision through implementation of design project was structured correspondingly into six parts
PBL techniques, a number of project requirements were that were integrated with the educational modules. This was
identified. Realistic project topics had to be chosen to ensure assigned to groups of three or four students at the start of the
that the students would recognise their relevance and course. Handing out the project immediately at the outset of the
consequently identify themselves with the tasks at hand. This course, where students are largely unfamiliar with the material
requirement takes into account that one of the key incentives required for the completion of the project, renders the learning
for introducing the PBL approach was to stimulate excitement process goal driven. This approach is in support of the life-long
of students and to motivate them to take an active interest in learning scenario for which students ought to be prepared and
their own learning rather than mainly focus on obtaining a where the learning typically occurs on a needs basis in an
certain grade by acquiring just enough knowledge to achieve active and often collaborative learning mode. The submission
this goal. In addition, the project had to seamlessly integrate all of a written progress report was required after the completion
topics that are typically covered in the course and, at the same of each of the six parts of the project in order to guide students
time, exhibit the appropriate scope and level of complexity. through the design tasks and to enforce due progress
throughout the entire semester.

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At the start of every lecture period, approximately 15 minutes The project description given to students included the
were devoted to unstructured discussions of project-related issues following elements: a concise statement of project objectives,
and problems. In addition, a total of three full class periods explanation of teaming issues (team forming procedure and
throughout the semester were allotted for two progress team member responsibilities), breakdown of the six modules
presentations and a final presentation by each student team. Thus, into a sequence of specific tasks, list of deliverables with
the class time used for interaction on issues related to the project associated deadlines, and outline for grading and evaluation
required a reduction of material covered in the lecture component procedures. Distributing an explicit task breakdown to students
by approximately 25% compared with the traditional syllabus. may initially seem to contradict the fundamental philosophy of
Therefore, the removed content had to be covered through open-ended PBL, but this class was the first exposure of this
independent learning associated with the project activities. particular group of students to this approach, which
indisputably requires a certain amount of training and
An overview of project components for each of the educational experience. After assessing the outcomes of the recent pilot
modules is given in Table 1. The technical components are implementations and making the necessary adjustments, SIT is
identical with the topics presented in the lecture and planning to propagate the PBL approach into a number of other
represented roughly three times as many individual project classes. In the future, the students will be exposed to this
tasks as the associated business components. The latter were approach as early as in the freshman year, and thus they will be
not covered comprehensively in the lecture but were part of enabled to gradually build up the skill set required to function
informal discussions. In addition, they draw on the students’ in this active learning environment. At that time, the level of
previous exposure to these topics in a variety of other courses. detail included in the project description is likely to be reduced.

Table 1: Components of the modular project. LESSONS LEARNED

Module Technical Business Upon assessing the first pilot implementation, a few findings
No. Components Components can be identified. Firstly, the introduction of PBL changed the
1 Mobility of mechanisms Project planning interaction between the instructor and students significantly.
2 Kinematic analysis Patents & trademarks While the learning environment before the revision was very
3 Gear design Market analysis teacher-driven, the revised course was much more focused on
4 Linkage synthesis Societal impact the students’ needs. This required some flexibility on the
5 Force analysis Cost analysis instructor’s part in responding spontaneously to the project-
6 Vibration analysis Business plan related problems surfacing during the unstructured discussions
and in adjusting the lecture pace to the project’s progress. In
The four candidate products shown in Figure 1 were presented the next offering, some adjustments to the schedule will have to
to the student teams as possible project selections. Contrary to be made. The planning on which specific subjects to cover in
examples typically used in popular textbooks for related the lecture and which ones to move to independent learning
courses, a theme of significant relevance to society was through the project will require some adjustments in the future.
selected. Triggered by a rapidly aging population and
facilitated by recent technological advances, devices to assist Secondly, letting students determine the composition of the project
older citizens and people with disabilities will become more teams entirely on their own turned out to be an inadequate choice.
and more prevalent. Many related products involve simple Based on this procedure, three of the teams formed through mutual
mechanisms and thus represent valid candidate course projects. agreement of all members, while the remaining fourth team
essentially consisted of those students who, for some reason, were
unable to form alliances. The result was a group that over the
course of the semester significantly underperformed the other
teams. While it is rather clear that equal teams with culturally
diversity and similarly distributed talent would be desirable, it is
much less obvious how such a balanced distribution could be
achieved. A team selection by the instructor based on grade point
averages would not necessarily result in equally strong teams since
other qualifications such as previous co-op experience or
leadership skills are just as important for the group success, as are
analytical abilities and factual knowledge. Dennis, for example,
described the use of students with prior work experience as team
leaders to promote peer-to-peer teaching and learning [30].
Incompatibility, due to work schedules and personality conflicts,
might also turn out as further impediments to the feasibility of
team selection by the instructor. Therefore, during the next
offering of the course, a random procedure will be adopted.

Another challenge associated with team-based educational

activities is the evaluation of both individual contributions and
Figure 1: Products (clockwise from top left: hand-held achieved skill levels of the team members. Student groups
therapeutic massager; wheelchair lift to be retrofitted into a often covered for underperforming team members unless
minivan; arm prosthesis, and stairway lift to be installed in forced directly into peer evaluation. Arce suggested using peer
homes of the elderly. evaluation in the final project presentations as a significant

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component of the grading procedure for project-based courses 13. Rasheed, H.A., Nestorovic, S. and Elhassan, S., Designing
[31]. In the course described here, team members were asked a self-instructed, project-based multimedia course in
to evaluate and rate each other’s work as documented in the engineering education. Proc. 2000 ASEE Annual Conf.
final group presentations, as well as complete an anonymous and Expo., St Louis, USA (2000).
questionnaire judging the contributions of all team members. In 14. Miner, S.M. and Link, R.E., A project-based introduction
cases of obvious extreme discrepancies in the level of to the finite element method. Proc. 2000 ASEE Annual
contributions, a differential to the project grade of the group Conf. and Expo., St Louis, USA (2000).
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CONCLUSIONS and Expo., Albuquerque, USA (2001).
16. Newell, T. and Shedd, T., A team-oriented, project-based
A PBL approach was implemented into an existing junior-level approach for undergraduate heat transfer instruction. Proc.
mechanical engineering course on mechanisms and machine 2001 ASEE Annual Conf. and Expo., Albuquerque, USA
dynamics. The course content was reorganised into six 2-week (2001).
educational modules. The group design project was also 17. McCreanor, P.T., Project based teaching: a case study from
structured into six parts. It was assigned to the students right at a hydraulics class. Proc. 2001 ASEE Annual Conf. and
the start of the course and aimed at developing a realistic Expo., Albuquerque, USA (2001).
product, thus including both technical and business aspects. 18. Richardson, J., Corleto, C., Froyd, J., Imbrie, P.K., Parker,
Written progress reports required upon completion of each J. and Roedel, R., Freshman design projects in the
individual module, as well as two oral progress presentations, Foundation Coalition. Proc. 1998 28th Annual FIE Conf,,
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methodology is given and potential modifications for future courses. Proc. 2000 ASEE Annual Conf. and Expo., St
offerings of the revised course are discussed. Louis, USA (2000).
20. Wood, J.C., An interdisciplinary problem-based
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