Lawlor, Bob and McLoone, Seamus and Meehan, Andrew (2015) Integrating a PBL Pilot Module into an Electronic Engineering Programme. AISHE Academic Practice Guides: An Introduction to Enquiry/Problembased Learning, 4.

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Abstract

The Department of Electronic Engineering at Maynooth University, Ireland was established in 1999 and graduated its first cohort of engineers in 2004. In recent years, a number of faculty involved in the undergraduate electronic engineering programme have become interested in the use of problem-based learning in general and specifically in how to most effectively integrate PBL into the programme. We looked in detail at Aalborg University in Denmark where PBL has been used extensively in engineering and science education for over forty years. An engineering professor from Aalborg was invited to Maynooth in November 2011 and facilitated two PBL workshops, one aimed at the entire Maynooth University faculty and one customised specifically to an engineering education context. The following June, three faculty members from the department visited Aalborg University to observe first-hand the so-called Aalborg model which is often referred to in the literature as Project-Oriented Problem Based Learning (POPBL). Between September 2012 and January 2013 these same three faculty members completed a part-time online diploma in PBL with Aalborg University [Aalborg 2015] while at the same time developing a pilot PBL module to be integrated into year 1 of the above 4-year engineering programme. This pilot PBL module was implemented during semester 2 of the 2012/13 academic year and has since been adopted and further refined as a substantial component of the engineering programme. In the following academic year a follow-on PBL module was developed and introduced into year 2 of the engineering programme. This case study gives a brief overview of the mistakes made and lessons learned in developing these PBL modules and integrating them into the programme.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Facilitate – the Irish Network for Enquiry/Problem-based Learning
Keywords:	PBL Pilot Module; Electronic Engineering Programme; Maynooth University;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Electronic Engineering
Item ID:	6808
Depositing User:	Robert Lawlor
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2016 15:49
Journal or Publication Title:	AISHE Academic Practice Guides: An Introduction to Enquiry/Problembased Learning
Publisher:	AISHE
Refereed:	Yes
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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