Mechatronics: Experiential Education and Project Based Learning

Efforts on developing experiential learning methodologies are getting attention due to their contributions to education quality. It helps to develop competencies and build-up creative and critical thinking skills as added values aiming to improve the quality of learning. The interdisciplinary Mechatronics field accommodates a coherent interactive concurrent design process that facilitates, innovation, and develops the desired skills by adopting experiential learning approaches motivated by the implementation, assessment and reflections supported accumulated knowledge and learning experience. Mechatronics educational and experimental systems are developed to facilitate experiential learning and enhance the learning process with the aim to stimulate thinking skills for undergraduate students. The developed Mechatronics educational and experimental systems are designed, implemented, programed, tested, and used by the students successfully within designed Lab. sessions. The developed systems have their learning indicators where students acquire knowledge and learn the target skills through engagement, students' centered, hands-on experience inspired by collaborative involvement, brainstorming, and interactive discussions. The integration of the learning outcomes associated with the developed Mechatronics educational and experimental systems and synergized with the project-based learning approach yielded the desired promising results that enhance the value of learning. The effectiveness of the developed experimental systems is demonstrated through experimental Lab. sessions and also through project-based learning respectively at Sanyo_Onoda City University, Yamaguchi, Japan, and the American University in Cairo.