Engineering students’ perceptions of problem and project-based learning (PBL) in an online learning environment

Abstract

Modern engineering curricula often rely on approaches such as problem and project-based learning (PBL) as a core teaching and learning strategy. With a growing need to move these student-centred active learning curricula to online and blended learning environments, it is essential that practitioners understand the impact that these different modes of delivery may have on student collaboration. This paper aims to identify factors that affect students’ perceptions of PBL in an online learning environment. This case study was carried out in an Irish university over a seven-week period with first-year engineering students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilised a questionnaire (n = 94) and semi-structured interviews (n = 7) to collect participant data. Qualitative data were analysed using Braun and Clark’s thematic analysis. The analysis identified 6 themes and 18 sub-themes that are linked to students’ perceptions of problem and project-based learning (PBL) in an online environment. The identified themes and sub-themes in this study are uniquely reported findings within the context of online PBL in engineering education. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Author Keywords

online learning PBL teamwork Open data distance learning

Index Keywords

E-learning Online learning Curricula Engineering education Students Project based learning Computer aided instruction Online learning environment Problem- and project-based learning Student perceptions Engineering curriculum teamwork Distance-learning Modern engineering Open Data Open datum

Author Affiliations

School of Education, University of Limerick, Limerick, Munster, Ireland

School of Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Munster, Ireland

Funding & Acknowledgements

Irish Research Council

Grant: GOIPG/2021/352, 2022

This work was supported by the Irish Research Council (IRC) under Grant number: [GOIPG/2021/352]. Early data from this paper were initially presented in the form of a conference paper (O\u2019Connor et al. 2022). This paper represents a significantly more developed version of this early version and has benefitted from feedback received in this early stage.

Irish Research Council

This work was supported by the Irish Research Council (IRC) under Grant number: [GOIPG/2021/352]. Early data from this paper were initially presented in the form of a conference paper (O\u2019Connor et al. 2022). This paper represents a significantly more developed version of this early version and has benefitted from feedback received in this early stage.

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Engineering students’ perceptions of problem and project-based learning (PBL) in an online learning environment

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