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- bgsimpson
Microtechnology: The Project-Based Approach (Interactive Qualifying Project - Junior Capstone)
Updated: Jan 13, 2022
The Problem
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education are some of the most important fields in modern academia. The Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (Ostschweizer Fachhochschule, OST) includes Systems Engineering as one of its majors. Currently, students learn most of the material from lecture courses in their first two years, then they implement their knowledge in the last two years through more lab-based courses. Our sponsor—Dr. Tobias Lamprecht, a professor of microtechnology at OST—wants to integrate projects into the foundational courses offered at OST. This is known as project-based learning (PBL). OST currently does not have any usage of PBL within their systems engineering curriculum; all their projects are completed within lab courses which are separate from lectures. Seeing that Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is project-based, Dr. Lamprecht was hoping for our input as students to help him develop a module that would integrate a project into his course.
Project Goal
Recruiters and companies tend to look for skills such as teamwork experience and effective communication—which are developed in the project-based learning curriculum—and OST’s job as a higher-level institution is to help prepare their students as much as possible for the work force. Our goal was to introduce a project-based module into a foundational microtechnology course at OST.
Objectives
Our first objective on the path to our project goal was to develop a foundational understanding of project-based learning. We as a group needed to better understand why PBL is a powerful method of teaching. Examples of courses that use PBL and their respective projects showed us the benefits of project-based education. Being able to see how instructors create their project-based educational plans, aided us in obtaining a greater understanding of the possible implementations of PBL.
After gaining a deeper understanding of project-based learning, the next objective was to determine what topics in Dr. Lamprecht’s class syllabus met the qualifications to be turned into a PBL module. These qualifications were collected during our research and are as follows: early within the course, relatively simple to understand, and contained theories applicable in the industry. We chose atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes for the topic. This was because they are taught early in the curriculum, are a topic that is easy enough to learn on one’s own and are highly used in the industry.
We created the project-based learning module that would be implemented into Dr. Lamprecht’s course along with instructions for Dr. Lamprecht to implement the PBL module and monitor its success. We also produced several deliverables to act as steppingstones to a PBL-rich learning environment for Dr. Lamprecht.
Methods
Our first step in the data gathering process was to interview five WPI professors individually to inquire about their experience with projects, focusing on what worked and what did not work for them. To conclude our WPI interviews, we met with Professor Francesca Bernardi who was educated in her home country of Italy. Through this conversation, we were able to gain knowledge from a primary source on the differences between American and European higher education. Following this, we interviewed two professors from OST. Their interviews gave us context into the culture at the University and a better understanding of how to best design our PBL module, along with the potential differences in American and Swiss higher education systems.
We delivered a survey to WPI students with the hope of gathering their thoughts on how class projects were received. The students surveyed were all involved in various engineering disciplines, although a special focus was put on contacting those in the robotics engineering program, which is known for having a high percentage of projects within their courses. Following this, we sent out a survey to roughly fifteen of Dr. Lamprecht’s current and past students to inquire into what they felt were the hardest topics to grasp in his microtechnology curriculum.
Results
Objective 1: Developing a Foundational Understanding of Project-Based Learning
We sent out surveys to WPI students to gain a better understanding of how PBL has affected their education and helped them learn the course material. When asked to rate the quality of PBL based on
their education experience, WPI students rated it on average 7.85 out of ten—as shown in Figure 1. This highlights that WPI students value project-based learning. Additionally, we asked WPI students whether they felt PBL affected how well they learned their class material; in Figure 2 the average response to this question was 4.07 out of five, which underlines how PBL can help students learn more efficiently. After looking at this data, we became convinced that PBL would help better OST students’ education. The next step in fully understanding PBL was interviewing professors on their experiences with developing PBL modules. These interviews helped guide our thought process as we investigated how to best cater to the OST students’ needs.
Objective 2: Selecting the microtechnology Topic
Choosing the microtechnology topic on which to focus our PBL module was done in stages. During our interviews with WPI professors we gained insight into what topics met our standards for PBL: early in the course, relatively easy to understand, and relevant to the industry. Next, we looked at the OST students’ surveys to see what topics they were interested in having turned into projects or what they needed more help understanding. We ultimately selected AFM probes as our topic for the module.
The next step was understanding how certain topics taught within microtechnology are more suited to PBL. OST Professor Gutsche discussed how using the clean room is a key aspect of microtechnology. When we visited the OST campus, Dr. Lamprecht gave us a tour of the clean room. It took several minutes to change into clothes for the clean room as it is a highly controlled environment where the amount of dust must be kept to a minimum. Consequently, it would be quite difficult and costly to have students working there every day. This reinforced the idea that it would be burdensome to have our PBL module take place within the clean room, as our sponsor previously explained.
The final step in the topic selection process consisted of combining what we learned from the interviews and surveys so that we could work with Dr. Lamprecht to pick the topic. Dr. Lamprecht gave us a list of topics to research and narrow down. We made sure the chosen topic was a relatively simpler subject within microtechnology to ensure the students were less overwhelmed in this initial project experience. All this analysis led us to AFM probes, which are widely used in microtechnology to help map the topography of a material.
Objective 3: Creation of the Project-Based Module
Once we gathered additional information on AFM probes, we began developing the final deliverables. This final project will be an enlarged model of their assigned AFM probe (yet still only a millimeter in length). The students will be split into groups of three, each assigned with their own unique probe type to research and build. The OST students will be asked to create two presentations, a preliminary design review (PDR) and a critical design review (CDR). The main goal of the PDR is to give Dr. Lamprecht the opportunity to check in with groups and help steer them back on track if they are strafing from the project goals. The PDR can be seen almost as a halfway check-in with the project. The CDR will be the final presentation for the project and will build off the PDR.
One of the most important deliverables for Dr. Lamprecht was our grading rubric. In our discussions with Dr. Lamprecht, we decided to use a ranked scale for the sections on our rubric. Students’ performance will be evaluated as follows: presentation skills, content, knowledge of topic, and the final model. The public speaking section of the rubric will be weighted less than others for one main reason: the students do not have much experience in being graded on their public speaking. The content portion of the rubric will be weighted the most since this is the most important information that Dr. Lamprecht wants his students to retain from this project.
To gauge the success of this project-based module, Dr. Lamprecht will need a way to see if the students benefited from its integration into his class. We must turn to the students and obtain their feedback. We provided Dr. Lamprecht with a sample survey to administer to his students after the module has been completed. This survey will allow Dr. Lamprecht to see if his students benefitted from the implementation of the AFM probe project. These deliverables will be crucial to the successful implementation of the PBL module within Dr. Lamprecht’s course.
Deliverables: | |
|---|---|
Project Rubric | A rubric for Dr. Lamprecht to grade his students’ projects on |
Project Timeline | A timeline for when to assign certain parts of the project |
Post-Project Student Survey | A survey that Dr. Lamprecht will distribute to his students after completing the project to gauge their interest and its impact |
Conclusions and Recommendations
Our end goal in creating this project was to deepen students’ understanding of microtechnology topics, improve their CORE skills, and better prepare them for the workforce. We interviewed professors and surveyed students to gain a better understanding of how to complete this goal. Several professors stressed that starting with the end in mind is the best approach to creating any project. We used this advice to develop the guidelines for our PBL module.
For any future IQP projects related to creating a PBL module, we recommend interviewing a variety of professors at WPI to gain insight into their experiences. The quality of information gathered from these interviews would be more consistent if the professors operated in a field related to the project topic. Additionally, when creating any PBL modules, it is important to keep student opinions in mind. Ultimately, the module is for the students and keeping their interests in mind is imperative to the success of a module. We hope that in several years, OST will have project-based learning in every course, just as it is here at WPI.
