Towards characterising design-based learning in engineering education: a review of the literature

Abstract

Design-based learning is a teaching approach akin to problem-based learning but one to which the design of artefacts, systems and solutions in project-based settings is central. Although design-based learning has been employed in the practice of higher engineering education, it has hardly been theorised at this educational level. The aim of this study is to characterise design-based learning from existing empirical research literature on engineering education. Drawing on a perspective that accounts for domain-specific, idiosyncratic and learner-centred aspects of design problems in the context of engineering education, 50 empirical studies on project-based and problem-based engineering education, to which the design of artefacts is central, were reviewed. Based on the findings, design-based learning is characterised with regard to domain-specificity, learner expertise and task authenticity. The implications of this study for the practice of engineering education are discussed.

Keywords:

• design-based learning
• problem-based learning
• project-based learning
• design tasks

Notes

The Interuniversity Centre for Educational Research is the Dutch PhD research school for educational sciences formally recognised by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The academic board of the organisation maintains a list of non-ISI journals of acceptable academic quality in which its members can publish (http://www.ou.nl/eCache/DEF/1/93/759.html).