Lessons Learned from Team-Teaching a PBL Robotics Course with Multi-disciplinary Instructors and Students

A group of nine junior and senior level technology students were enrolled in a Design of Robotic Systems course in the fall of 2014. This class was co-taught by professors from the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET), Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) and the Computer and Information Technology (CIT) programs at Purdue University. The goal of this paper is to document the activities carried out during the semester the course was taught and present the lessons learned from teaching multidisciplinary students with the backgrounds in MET, EET and CIT. The objective of the course was to provide a Project Based Learning (PBL) experience for the students. Students were tasked to specify, design, and develop prototype sub-systems for existing robots. During the semester, the students attended lectures and participated in laboratories that were heavily focused on hands-on activities relevant to design of these sub-systems. Interdisciplinary student teams were introduced early in the semester so that the requirements specification and design processes would have multiple views. In the beginning of the semester, the course focused on topics related to team management, the design process and modeling and visualization of parts and systems. The second part of the course was centered on specific technical aspects for the design of robotic systems. These topics included: batteries, sensors and data acquisition, software control, actuator mechanisms, and propulsion. The course concluded with students focusing on the construction of the robotic subsystems. The themes for these final lectures revolved around manufacturing techniques, reading and making electrical sketches, electric power conversion and design for robustness. References to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) were made to show students how a systems engineering approach improves both the process and product, to motivate the students to have a broader perspective of the topics being taught in the class, and to serve as a bonding agent between the topics, the project, the students, and the faculty. In addition to the narrative of the course, this paper also documents the assessment tools used and lessons learned during the process.