Study and research paths: A New tool for Design and Management of Project Based Learning in Engineering

An open issue in Project and Problem Based Learning (PjBL and PBL) research is how the project topic or the ''problem'' can be selected or constructed systematically. This issue has been investigated in the field of didactics of mathematics and one of the proposed teaching formats is ''study and research paths'' (SRPs) based on the principles of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD). We hypothesize that the methodology for problem design and analysis associated to SRPs can enrich the application of Project and Problem Based Learning in engineering education. We conducted a case study on the design and experimentation of an SRP, implemented in a course of General Linear Elasticity of a degree program in Mechanical Engineering. The results show the potential of the SRP and its associated devices such as the Question-Answer maps to support the a priori design of a proposed project topic or problem. Q-A maps show to be useful both for teachers and students to describe and manage the knowledge involved. The SRP is compatible with the principles of PBL and enriches it with tools to explicitly deal with the design and preliminary analysis of project topics, as well as with the analysis of observed project work.