Problem Based Learning in Aerospace Engineering Education

 

Doris R. Brodeur, Peter W. Young, Kim B. Blair Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

     Problem-based learning is now a widespread teaching method in disciplines where students must learn to apply knowledge, not just acquire it. In the undergraduate curriculum in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, problem-based learning and design build experiences are integrated throughout the program. In an early freshman-year experience, Introduction to Aerospace and Design, students design, build, and fly radio controlled lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles. In the sophomore-year Unified Engineering course, students design, build, and fly radio-controlled electric propulsion aircraft. In a course on Aerodynamics, a case study from either industry or government is used to provide an authentic problem. Upper-level capstone courses are entirely problem-based. In these PBL experiences, students identify problems of interest to them and experiment to find solutions, as well as design complex systems that integrate engineering fundamentals in a multidisciplinary approach.

 

     Interest in problem-based learning (PBL) arose in higher education in response to criticisms that programs in professional areas, e.g., medicine, engineering, failed to equip graduates with the problem-solving skills required for a lifetime of learning.1-2 Problem based learning has now become a widespread teaching method in disciplines where students must learn to apply knowledge not just acquire it.

 

     Problem-based learning derives from the theory that learning is a process in which the learner actively constructs knowledge. Learning results from a learner’s actions; instruction plays a role only to the extent that it enables and fosters constructive activities. Three major theoretical principles support the practice of PBL:

1) Learning is a constructive process

2) Knowing about knowing (metacognition) affects learning

3) Social and cultural factors affect learning.

     In these PBL experiences, MIT students find that learning is more interesting and engaging, and that they develop a greater understanding of engineering science and core engineering fundamentals because they find the information for themselves and actively use the information to complete their projects.