Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program

Purpose: Project-Based Learning (PBL) is considered to be an active learning methodology which can be used to develop both technical and transversal competences in engineering programs. This methodology demands a great deal of work effort from the students and also from the teachers and it requires...

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Autores: Alves, Anabela; Sousa, Rui; Moreira, Francisco; Carvalho, M. Alice; Cardoso, Elisabete; Pimenta, Pedro; Malheiro, M. Teresa; Brito, Irene; Fernandes, Sara; Mesquita, Diana
Tipo de documento: Artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Lenguaje:Inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/91281
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/91281
https://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.1816
Nivel de acceso:Acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Problem-based learning
Active learning
Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)
Project-based learning
Engineering education
Industrial engineering
Management curriculum
Enginyeria -- Ensenyament universitari
Aprenentatge basat en problemes
Aprenentatge actiu
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Metodologies docents
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Ensenyament universitari
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author Alves, Anabela
author2 Sousa, Rui
Moreira, Francisco
Carvalho, M. Alice
Cardoso, Elisabete
Pimenta, Pedro
Malheiro, M. Teresa
Brito, Irene
Fernandes, Sara
Mesquita, Diana
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author_browse Alves, Anabela
Brito, Irene
Cardoso, Elisabete
Carvalho, M. Alice
Fernandes, Sara
Malheiro, M. Teresa
Mesquita, Diana
Moreira, Francisco
Pimenta, Pedro
Sousa, Rui
author_facet Alves, Anabela
Sousa, Rui
Moreira, Francisco
Carvalho, M. Alice
Cardoso, Elisabete
Pimenta, Pedro
Malheiro, M. Teresa
Brito, Irene
Fernandes, Sara
Mesquita, Diana
author_role author
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
description Purpose: Project-Based Learning (PBL) is considered to be an active learning methodology which can be used to develop both technical and transversal competences in engineering programs. This methodology demands a great deal of work effort from the students and also from the teachers and it requires a meticulous plan and a well-managed project as well. These activities go far beyond the normal activities in traditional lectures, enabling to outpace the difficulties that spur along the way that may be both complex and demotivating. This methodology has been implemented in the Integrated Master Degree on Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM), at one public university in Portugal, since the 2004/2005 academic year. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss the main difficulties of the implementation of PBL, mainly from the teachers’ perspectives. Additionally, some effective strategies will be recommended to overcome such difficulties. Design/methodology/approach: The perceptions of the teachers were collected through a survey based on six main themes. The participants in the study include eight teachers from the five courses of the first semester of the first year of the IEM program involved in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 editions. Findings: Integration of courses in the project; student assessment; growing number of students in each team and the need of physical spaces for them; and compartmentalized knowledge has emerged as the main difficulties. To overcome these difficulties some key strategies were recommended. Originality/value: A new perspective based on course teachers' views and experiences will deepen the understanding of the problems and provide inputs for the development of strategies that may improve the effectiveness of PBL and introduce changes for its successful implementation. These strategies are intended to be transferable to other contexts, as most of the problems and constraints are common to other active learning approaches.
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language eng
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publishDate 2016
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reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
spelling Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program Alves, Anabela Sousa, Rui Moreira, Francisco Carvalho, M. Alice Cardoso, Elisabete Pimenta, Pedro Malheiro, M. Teresa Brito, Irene Fernandes, Sara Mesquita, Diana Problem-based learning Active learning Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher) Project-based learning Engineering education Industrial engineering Management curriculum Enginyeria -- Ensenyament universitari Aprenentatge basat en problemes Aprenentatge actiu Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Metodologies docents Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Ensenyament universitari Purpose: Project-Based Learning (PBL) is considered to be an active learning methodology which can be used to develop both technical and transversal competences in engineering programs. This methodology demands a great deal of work effort from the students and also from the teachers and it requires a meticulous plan and a well-managed project as well. These activities go far beyond the normal activities in traditional lectures, enabling to outpace the difficulties that spur along the way that may be both complex and demotivating. This methodology has been implemented in the Integrated Master Degree on Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM), at one public university in Portugal, since the 2004/2005 academic year. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss the main difficulties of the implementation of PBL, mainly from the teachers’ perspectives. Additionally, some effective strategies will be recommended to overcome such difficulties. Design/methodology/approach: The perceptions of the teachers were collected through a survey based on six main themes. The participants in the study include eight teachers from the five courses of the first semester of the first year of the IEM program involved in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 editions. Findings: Integration of courses in the project; student assessment; growing number of students in each team and the need of physical spaces for them; and compartmentalized knowledge has emerged as the main difficulties. To overcome these difficulties some key strategies were recommended. Originality/value: A new perspective based on course teachers' views and experiences will deepen the understanding of the problems and provide inputs for the development of strategies that may improve the effectiveness of PBL and introduce changes for its successful implementation. These strategies are intended to be transferable to other contexts, as most of the problems and constraints are common to other active learning approaches. Peer Reviewed OmniaScience https://hdl.handle.net/2117/91281 https://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.1816
spellingShingle Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
Alves, Anabela
Problem-based learning
Active learning
Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)
Project-based learning
Engineering education
Industrial engineering
Management curriculum
Enginyeria -- Ensenyament universitari
Aprenentatge basat en problemes
Aprenentatge actiu
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Metodologies docents
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Ensenyament universitari
title Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
title_full Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
title_fullStr Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
title_full_unstemmed Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
title_short Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
title_sort Managing PBL difficulties in an industrial engineering and management program
topic Problem-based learning
Active learning
Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)
Project-based learning
Engineering education
Industrial engineering
Management curriculum
Enginyeria -- Ensenyament universitari
Aprenentatge basat en problemes
Aprenentatge actiu
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Metodologies docents
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Ensenyament universitari
topic_facet Problem-based learning
Active learning
Engineering--Study and teaching (Higher)
Project-based learning
Engineering education
Industrial engineering
Management curriculum
Enginyeria -- Ensenyament universitari
Aprenentatge basat en problemes
Aprenentatge actiu
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Metodologies docents
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ensenyament i aprenentatge::Ensenyament universitari
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/91281
https://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jiem.1816