Measuring the Impact of Project-Based Learning in Six Sigma Education

Abstract

The goal of this research is to quantify the impact of project-based learning on students’ knowledge in Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma graduate-level courses. Education in Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma requires practical application of theoretical knowledge. Both the Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma courses involve student teams conducting hands-on collaborative projects over a 16-week semester. After completing the project, student surveys were conducted and analyzed to observe the impact of the semester project on students’ knowledge. The student responses were analyzed from the Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma courses by performing Fisher's exact test to determine the significance of the perceived knowledge the students received through the use of the semester project in both courses. The findings show the use of the semester project had a positive impact on the students’ knowledge in learning course concepts. In addition, the results indicated the students were able to apply the theoretical knowledge learned in the course to solve real-world problems.

Keywords:

• Six Sigma
• Design for Six Sigma
• education
• project-based learning
• Fisher's exact test
• engineering education