Assessment of Project-Based Learning in a MECHATRONICS Context

Y

18

Student Projects; Teaching Methods; Engineering Education; Creative Thinking; Technology Education; STEM Education; Foreign Countries; Thinking Skills; Information Technology; Secondary School Science; High Schools; Design; Evaluation Methods; Intervention; Inservice Teacher Education; Workshops; Grade 12; Competition

1045-1064

Project-based learning (PBL) that has authenticity in the pupils' world enables the teaching of science and technology to pupils from a variety of backgrounds. PBL has the potential to enable pupils to research, plan, design, and reflect on the creation of technological projects (Doppelt, 2000). Engineering education, which is common in Israel, has a unique structure in that it combines practical and theoretical knowledge, synthesizes vertical and lateral thinking, and creates a rich and flexible learning environment. The CTT (Creative Thinking in Technology) program (Barak & Doppelt, 1999) integrates Co.R.T. Thinking tools (De Bono, 1986) into the technology curriculum using the LEGO-Logo learning environment for creating authentic projects. The program began in 1994. Pupils study lateral thinking tools in order to deal with different alternatives, to consider multiple factors, and to refrain from premature judgments on ideas. They use vertical thinking tools in order to document their design process and to calculate and to structure programming for the control of their projects. As the CTT program evolved, a Creative Thinking Scale (CTS) was developed in order to assess pupils' portfolios (Barak & Doppelt, 2000). The study reported in this article extends research conducted on the CTT program and proposes a Creative Design Process (CDP) that can be assessed using the CTS.

ERIC

35

2015

EJ1063599