APIT: Evidences of Aligning Project Based Learning with Various Instructional Strategies for Enhancing Knowledge in Automobile Engineering

Acquisition of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is essential for mechanical engineering students as Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) may not adequately prepare them for their innovative and flexible role as future engineers. HOTS require the ability to apply knowledge and skills they have learned. Most of the students find it a difficult and complex cognitive task. UG programme in mechanical engg. is typically a theory based model with limited exposure to real world problems. Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which student's gains knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to solve complex and real time problems. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation and evaluate the usability of an Automobile Project Implementation Template (APIT) for PBL approach. APIT is an instructional design template. The objective of the designing APIT was to assist a faculty advisor in implementing PBL for design and manufacture of an automobile. Our study reports the usability of APIT for novice faculty in mechanical engg. Also the findings for migrations form LOTS to HOTS for automobile PBL using APIT for (N=25). It reveals that APIT allowed the faculty advisor to conduct the design and manufacture of an automobile in stage wise manner and also evaluate the students learning in a systematic manner for all levels of blooms taxonomy mapping the migrations from LOTS to HOTS. Analysis showed 24% students in LOTS phase from medium strata Starburst to high strata in HOTS phase while 76% remained Aligned to medium strata. 90 % of the novice faculty felt APIT will be useful for them in planning an automobile project using PBL. The automobile PBL activity implemented using APIT has revealed high levels of student's engagement.