Innovative Teaching Methods for Engineering Students

Abstract

Teaching engineering today is a challenging task due to many issues, mainly the dynamic nature of the subject, the scope of the learning material, and the information overload in lives of students. The expectations of a quality graduate is that not only that he or she will have good fundamental knowledge of the subject, but so called „soft" competencies and eagerness to develop the needed skills independently. Traditional lectures fall short of providing the desired outcome, especially in the environment of reducing study years and increasing the number of working, even full time, students. Some of these points can be successfully addressed by using innovative teaching methods, including Problem Based Learning and Case Study. These methods have been implemented in teaching a variety of subjects, and their proponents have a strong base for advocating even wider use, but even those who are convinced of their advantages are reluctant to turn their lectures in to problem solving or case analysis. This is due to a number of reasons, including institutional and environmental ones, but at least some of it is the obstacle of needing to write a problem or a case. Readymade cases and problems are not in abundance and must be tailored to each class anyway. In order to achieve the desired outcome these must be, in simpler terms, good stories, and even the best engineering teachers cannot always be expected to write well, especially in such a challenging subject. This paper aims to describe the process of creating an interesting, useful and motivating problem or case for use in engineering classes and providing the tools for teachers to include more problem solving or case analysis in their teaching process. This process is based on the experience of using Problem Based Learning and Case Study with second year materials engineering students for teaching basic electronics. The use of these learning methods were met with interest and enthusiasm from students, and the outcomes strongly depended on the quality of problems and cases used.