Evaluation Methods for Linked-Course PBL in Engineering

Abstract

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has become an increasingly popular method across disciplines in K-12 and higher education worldwide since it was first introduced to medical education in the late 1960’s. However, it has not gained significant popularity in engineering curricula due to the large time-scale needed to solve complex engineering problems. Previous work by the authors in this area has developed a method for combining problem solving opportunities on a small time scale in linked courses that culminate to solve a challenging problem that would normally take a significant amount of class time. This method of problem-based learning provides a practical application that can be used in engineering curricula. While this method has produced favorable response from both students and faculty involved, there is a need for a more comprehensive effort to develop strategies for evaluation of PBL in mathematics, science and engineering courses, both directly and indirectly. In this study, Engineering Statics, Engineering Physics, and Calculus II are linked using PBL to increase both student engagement and success. For smaller problems, group work with directed individual or interactive tasks is facilitated through teacher-guided discussions. Students who are in these linked (co-enrolled) classes work on small mathematics, physics, and engineering problems that are used to solve a challenging engineering problem. The project addresses concepts taught in class, reinforces connections among the courses, and provides real-world applications. A mixed method evaluation approach was utilized by the external evaluators, the West Texas Office of Evaluation and Research (WTER) including surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews.

Indigent Care in Texas: A Study of Poor Farms and Outdoor Relief

“…1.25 miles from the courthouse square on 408 1/3 acres and replaced care that had housed paupers in local hotels and boardinghouses. Buildings to house residents, guards, and farm animals had been erected by November 1883 (Hunt 2008). According to the Kaufman County Historical Commission (2007), the improvements eventually included a superintendent's residence, dining hall, dormitory, silo, water well and well house, blacksmith shop, barns, chapel, jailhouse (for inhabitants who had been incarcerated for minor offences), and other outbuildings.…”

“…According to the Texas Historical Commission (Historical Markers: Kaufman County Poor Farm), the program at the Kaufman County Poor Farm required all able-bodied persons to work, and the resident pauper population was supplemented by county inmates brought daily from the county jail to the farm, where they were housed beginning in 1893. Presumably, they replaced the outside vendors who had been paid by the county to aid the poor farm residents (Hunt 2008), who were not always strong or healthy enough to provide for themselves.…”

“…The Civil War brought with it dislocation and, presumably, a burden on counties that were expected to support widows, orphans, and families whose husbands and fathers were absent. Records from Collin County are particularly informative about relief efforts that offi-cials undertook: according to Hunt (2008), the commissioners' court allocated money, staples, and cotton cards to needy families. Records between 1862 and 1865 included two references about aid to groups of citizens as opposed to specific individuals.…”

“…According to Cottrell (1989:174-175), the first poor farm was acquired by a county in 1876. Three years later, Kaufman County commissioners began to scout for land that the county could use as a poor farm (Hunt 2008). By 1880, approximately 24 counties had poorhouses or poor farms (U.S.…”

“…The Kaufman County Poor Farm, for example, was used simultaneously as a facility for paupers and in a Farm Demonstration Program beginning in 1931. Under that federal program, some of the farm acreage was set aside and placed under the jurisdiction of the county agent (Hunt 2008).…”