Engineering Students’ Approaches to Learning and Views on Collaboration: How do both Evolve in a PBL Environment and What are their Contributing and Constraining Factors?

Abstract

Background: This study investigated the development of engineering students' approaches to learning and views on collaboration in a PBL environment. Material and methods: An explanatory mixed research approach was employed with participants from four PBL-implementing engineering courses in Qatar and China. 197students responded to two surveys, and 168 students participated in group interviews. Results: While the study reveals increased adoption of deep approaches to learning on team projects, little influence on surface approaches to learning was found. The study also provides evidence supporting the positive relationship between students' adoption of deep learning approaches and their acknowledgement of values of collaboration in teamwork. Conclusions: This study suggests that while PBL characteristics may support deep learning, certain factors may underpin surface learning, including a feeling of insecurity during first experiences with it, lack of skills, and assessment methods that favor surface learning. Further efforts on engaging students with PBL may benefit both deep learning and team effectiveness.

Engineering Students’ Readiness to Transition to Emergency Online Learning in Response to COVID-19: Case of Qatar

“…Significant differences were identified regarding pedagogical mode as a demographic factor, with PBL course students reporting higher readiness than non-PBL students in total and in two of the four factors. This result further evidence of PBL's impact on students' self-efficacy and motivation (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019;Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020;Naji, Ebead, Al-Ali, & Du, 2020). The results are also aligned with suggestions from previous studies that teaching methods that highlight active, interactive, and collaborative learning better support students' selfdirected learning online (Chu & Tsai, 2009;Stewart, 2007;Yang & Tsai, 2008).…”

“…In the College of Engineering, problem and project-based learning (PBL) was recently introduced in the teaching practice of some courses. While a few studies presented positive results of engineering students' learning experiences in a PBL environment (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019;Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020;Naji, Ebead, Al-Ali, & Du, 2020), further educational and research attention to the effect of PBL implementation is needed (Chen, Kolmos, & Du, 2020). In this study, we hypothesized that students who have been learning in a 5 / 17 PBL environment may report different online learning experiences than students whose courses mainly focus on lectures.…”

Comparing Models of Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) Courses and Student Engagement in Civil Engineering in Qatar

“…Although transitioning a whole program and institution to PBL at a systemic level is ideal to maximize student learning (Kolmos, 2017), in reality, institutional movement to PBL initially takes place at the course level, based on the instructors' interests and initiation (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019;Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020). The extent to which the instructor may restructure and adjust the course to PBL is highly related to instructor-and student-based factors including their prior experiences, beliefs, motivation, and PBL-related skills, as well as socio-cultural factors such as institutional culture, support, policy, curricula conditions and physical facilities, and the educational system (Du, Kolmos, Ahmed, Spliid, Lyngdorf, & Ruan, 2020;Van Barneveld & Strobel, 2011).…”

“…Although the majority of the PBL literature in civil engineering tends to be an account of practice from the instructors' perspective or course feedback from students (Shekhar & Borrego, 2017), a few very recent studies have reported empirical evidence of students' development of deep learning (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019) and self-directed learning (Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020) through collaborative learning in project teams. Also is newly reported includes students' selfreported improvement in professional skills for civil engineering, namely, communication, problem-solving, use of modern technological tools, teamwork and leadership (Hezmi et al, 2017).…”

“…The study took place in the context of a pedagogical change from lecture-based to PBL methodology initiated by civil engineering instructors. Although over the last decade, higher education institutions in Qatar have been called upon to make pedagogical changes to provide students with profession-related competences, and a few change initiatives have taken place in some courses (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019;Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020), a lecture-based approach has remained the prevailing teaching method (Sabah & Du, 2018). Multiple qualitative data were generated from classroom observation and group interviews of 116 students who made up the 23 project teams within the four civil engineering courses at undergraduate programs at College of Engineering, Qatar University.…”