Research-Based Learning in Engineering: An Electrical Course Case Study

The development of critical and scientific thinking skills represents a major role in the education of engineering students, enabling them to suggest practical solutions to the diverse challenges confronting contemporary society. This paper describes the use of research-based learning as a pedagogical approach with the assistance of the Simscape platform in the Simulink environment to encourage the development of these competencies among second-semester engineering students at Tecnologico de Monterrey. For the course denominated “Analysis of Electrical Systems in Engineering”, they were asked to analyze the charging and discharging process of a supercapacitor through an equivalent electrical circuit model. The study included 42 students enrolled in the course, divided into the control group and the experimental group. As a result, the study demonstrates that this approach significantly improves student learning outcomes in both cohorts. The average scores in the post-test showed an increase of 3% among the experimental group over the control group. Furthermore, the students in the experimental group were administered a survey to ascertain their perspectives on the enhancement of scientific and critical thinking abilities as a result of engaging in research-based activities. The survey results indicate a consensus among students, with over 70% stating that this pedagogical approach enhanced this kind of skills and emphasizing the positive impact of these strategies in education.