Teaching a structured approach to the design process for undergraduate engineering students by problem-based education

Abstract

The paper describes our 2-year experience with the new problem-based design project, which has recently been introduced in the engineering design seminars for second-year engineering students at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. This guided self-study project is a tool to make the students familiar with the design process by presenting them with a framework of clearly defined and timed out phases in the design process. The students have to solve a small engineering design problem in a team. They are guided by a manual and by a strict time schedule. A tutor watches over the students' progress. At the end of the design project, the team writes a design report and presents it orally. A team mark is given by the tutors, considering three criteria: the way the team has completed the phases of the design process, the quality of the design report, and the presentation. The mark is individualized on the basis of the student's contribution to the teamwork. The appreciation of students and tutors for this problem-based learning activity was positive.