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Implementation of project-oriented design-based learning in a second-year mechanical/mechatronics subject
conference contribution
posted on 2017-12-11, 00:00 authored by John LongJohn Long, Michael PereiraMichael Pereira, Sivachandran ChandrasekaranThe School of Engineering at Deakin University has undergone a significant
transition towards making design and projects the basis for the undergraduate curriculum
rather than the more traditional approach based on lectures, texts, and examinations. A new
curriculum, called Project-Oriented Design-Based Learning (PODBL), is now in its second year
of implementation. The curriculum allows for approximately one half of the total content in the
course to be based on design projects. This study seeks to study and evaluate the effectiveness of a second-year
mechanical unit in the new PODBL curriculum.
SEM200, Machine Design, was developed as a new two-credit-point unit in the
Bachelor of Engineering, mechanical and mechatronics streams. It runs in the first semester
of the second year, and is takes up one half of the total content in the semester (two credit
points). The remaining half of semester is shared between a unit on engineering mathematics
and another on fluid mechanics (one credit point each). The main project for this unit is centred
on the design of a mechanical-based machine that must perform a defined set of tasks with a
defined set of criteria. The project aims to reflect a real-world engineering project environment.
Students work in teams. The assessment consists of a team project plan, a team presentation
of the final product, an interim report, and a final portfolio. The unit is offered both to on-campus
students at Geelong and online.
The unit been offered twice – in 2016 and again in 2017. The project for both
years was to build a robot following the rules and specifications of the Engineers-Australia
Warman Design-and-Build Competition. Forty-eight students completed the unit in 2016, and
100 students completed the unit in 2017. The average mark for 2016 was 66/100, and for 2017,
the average mark was 67/100. Student reviews of the unit were mostly positive and the
teaching team have learned a number of important lessons that will influence further offerings
of this and other PODBL units.
SEM200 is the third two-credit-point project-design unit in which
mechanical and mechatronics students enrol. The academic performance of the students
indicates that the content and assessment is appropriate for second-year students. The
student feedback suggests that although the unit involves a great deal of work, students
enjoyed both the challenge posed by the unit and the satisfaction of completing a complicated
design project in the space of a single semester.
transition towards making design and projects the basis for the undergraduate curriculum
rather than the more traditional approach based on lectures, texts, and examinations. A new
curriculum, called Project-Oriented Design-Based Learning (PODBL), is now in its second year
of implementation. The curriculum allows for approximately one half of the total content in the
course to be based on design projects. This study seeks to study and evaluate the effectiveness of a second-year
mechanical unit in the new PODBL curriculum.
SEM200, Machine Design, was developed as a new two-credit-point unit in the
Bachelor of Engineering, mechanical and mechatronics streams. It runs in the first semester
of the second year, and is takes up one half of the total content in the semester (two credit
points). The remaining half of semester is shared between a unit on engineering mathematics
and another on fluid mechanics (one credit point each). The main project for this unit is centred
on the design of a mechanical-based machine that must perform a defined set of tasks with a
defined set of criteria. The project aims to reflect a real-world engineering project environment.
Students work in teams. The assessment consists of a team project plan, a team presentation
of the final product, an interim report, and a final portfolio. The unit is offered both to on-campus
students at Geelong and online.
The unit been offered twice – in 2016 and again in 2017. The project for both
years was to build a robot following the rules and specifications of the Engineers-Australia
Warman Design-and-Build Competition. Forty-eight students completed the unit in 2016, and
100 students completed the unit in 2017. The average mark for 2016 was 66/100, and for 2017,
the average mark was 67/100. Student reviews of the unit were mostly positive and the
teaching team have learned a number of important lessons that will influence further offerings
of this and other PODBL units.
SEM200 is the third two-credit-point project-design unit in which
mechanical and mechatronics students enrol. The academic performance of the students
indicates that the content and assessment is appropriate for second-year students. The
student feedback suggests that although the unit involves a great deal of work, students
enjoyed both the challenge posed by the unit and the satisfaction of completing a complicated
design project in the space of a single semester.
