Integrating mechatronics in project-based learning of Malaysian high school students and teachers

Abstract

College students' attrition in engineering programs is a major problem in developed and developing countries. Outreach activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are a powerful resource to ignite K-12 students' interest to pursue scientific and engineering careers. Here, a program on mechatronics for Malaysian high-schoolers developed at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering and implemented at the National University of Malaysia is presented. The program follows a dual model where instructors and students work together on a project-based learning curriculum inspired by real-world problems. A group of Malaysian graduate students and highschool teachers was trained to serve as instructors by the New York University team. After training, the New York University team aided the instructors to administer the curriculum to 100 high-schoolers and organize a one-day exhibit for families at the

Integration of Mobile Learning and Project-Based Learning in Improving Vocational School Competence

“…This finding also provides information that psychomotor competencies are higher than other competencies. This increase is strengthened by research into the integration of mechatronic elements in the education curriculum using project-based learning (Moll, Bordeaux, & Kavraki, 2014), this model can improve students' ability to think critically and choose creative design solutions substantially (Marques, 2017;Tauro et al, 2017;Yu, Liu, Qing, Wang, & Cheng, 2018). Smartphone owned by students, has the potential to be used in the learning process at school (Yamamoto, 2017).…”

Fostering STEAM through challenge‐based learning, robotics, and physical devices: A systematic mapping literature review

“…Of these, several are related to PrBL [24,30,31,38,61,64,65,81,85,87,90,109,111,112], PBL [49,73,76,93], or ChBL [20,21,26]. In addition, some studies state that this type of methodological innovation requires training [11,74,104], and specific curricular changes [49,73,76,93], so it is necessary to adapt the learning pathways judging from an institutional point of view. Benefits related to the acquisition of specific competencies: As this study explores STEAM Education, it is normal to find studies related to the competencies commonly associated with STEAM Education, such as computational thinking, problem‐solving, critical thinking, programming, computing and design skills, interdisciplinary skills, computers science autonomy, autonomous learning, negotiating skills, and social abilities. Some examples of this type of papers are References [14,16,20,22,30,31,42,57,58,63,64,66,70,84,92,96,97,102] Benefits related to access to new contexts: One of the most relevant benefits of the changes in technology and methodology in STEAM Education is the possibility of carrying out activities in contexts, which previously were really complex.…”

“…Of these, several are related to PrBL [24,30,31,38,61,64,65,81,85,87,90,109,111,112], PBL [49,73,76,93], or ChBL [20,21,26]. In addition, some studies state that this type of methodological innovation requires training [11,74,104], and specific curricular changes [49,73,76,93], so it is necessary to adapt the learning pathways judging from an institutional point of view.…”

Development and delivery of a work experience week programme for mechanical engineering

“…There are many examples of activities targeting secondary school pupils, such as Engineering Workshops, 6,7 where students learn and use engineering technologies for one particular engineering discipline and design/explore their own products or University Summer Schools where students spend a few days at the University having a taste of the undergraduate student’s life and are exposed to different engineering disciplines. 8…”

“…PBL has been successfully applied in recent outreach programmes, see Tauro et al. 7 and references therein. PBL has the potential to encourage innovative and critical thinking and contributed to a positive perception of engineering and enriched the participant’s ideas of what engineers do when used as guideline for outreach activities.…”