Implementing Project-Based Learning in Physics and Statics Courses

The pre-engineering courses offered at West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) prepare students for a smooth transfer to a four-year institution at the junior level. However, students in certain courses occasionally fail to meet the learning outcome targets. Students often struggle with the connection between the concepts learned in class and the real world. To improve the learning outcomes, new pedagogical strategies beyond the traditional lecture-based teaching need to be adopted. Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that engages students’ interest and motivation, relates the theoretical concepts students studied inside the classroom and their applications explored during the activities outside of the classroom and provides more opportunities for direct interactions among students. This paper presents the implementations of PBL in Physics I and Statics courses at WKCTC. Sample team projects are described in details and the assessment on learning outcomes are discussed.