14 teaching mechatronics an innovative group project based approach

Teaching Mechatronics:An Innovative Group Project-Based Approach WEN-JYE SHYR Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No.. 1, Jin-De

Teaching Mechatronics:

An Innovative Group

Project-Based Approach

WEN-JYE SHYR

Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education, No 1, Jin-De Road, Changhua 500, Taiwan, ROC

Received 15 March 2009; accepted 16 July 2009

ABSTRACT: This study presents an innovative group project-based approach to teaching mechatronics

Mechatronics is a complex, highly technical and multidisciplinary field involving the design and manufacture of

integrated products Mechatronics course at the undergraduate level is rapidly increasing across the world Most

courses require student teams to design a product The complexity of student projects can make administration of

mechatronics courses extremely difficult Students develop both practical and theoretical understanding of

mechatronics while working on group projects They also develop the interpersonal and communication skills

needed to work in a multi-disciplinary field This study describes a group project-based approach for enabling

teams of students to complete mechatronics projects A set of heuristic guidelines is also proposed At the

National Changhua University of Education in the Department of Industrial Education and Technology, this

approach has yielded high student satisfaction and achievement ß2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc Comput Appl Eng

Educ 20: 93
102, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.20377

Keywords: mechatronics; group project-based approach; engineering education

INTRODUCTION

Learning styles vary from person to person Some might be very

efficient in learning from only reading well selected learning

material, while others absolutely need to experiment However,

psychological investigations have shown that in general people

remember only about 10% of the content that they read, but 90%

of what they experience It is well known that students learn and

retain more as they become more engaged with instructional

materials Students typically learn 20% of the material taught by

hearing, 40% by seeing and hearing, and 75% by seeing, hearing,

and doing Well-designed instruction modules offer the

possi-bility of achieving the 75% goal [1]

The mechatronics course sequence integrates the

funda-mental elements of mechanical, electrical, engineering and

information systems to culminate in a powerful, adaptable,

interdisciplinary approach to mechatronics In the laboratory,

students are often provided with a rich supply of sensors,

actuators and data collection and control tools that allow for

multiple solutions to a given design problem A broad based

approach, involving student built projects controlled using a

computer, encourages creativity and excitement about the subject

[2,3] Consequently, a course on mechatronics will have to deal

with complex theoretical subject matters as well as the complex-ity of managing a class project [4] Shyr et al [5] proposed web-based mechatronics monitoring and control learning platform to students using the actual mechatronics module

Teachers are often expected to design instructional activities that integrate theoretical knowledge and promote students’ creative thinking [6] The teacher should help students to integrate knowledge from science and other disciplines into the design processes [7] It is evident that there is an important role for technology education and that technology remains a crucial part of general education; even where technology education has gone beyond the ‘‘technology is applied science’’ paradigm Technology education is an equally valuable subject in science education, and both subjects should be concurrently taught [8,9]

Teaching engineering design through project engineering courses is becoming very common [10
13] Project-based learning (PBL) is a model for classroom activity that shifts away from the typical classroom practice of short, isolated teacher-centered lessons and instead emphasizes learning activities that are long-term, interdisciplinary and student-centered Project-based learning centered on the learner provides learners with opportunities for in-depth investigations of worthy topics Learners can autonomously construct personally meaningful artifacts that represent their learning Project-based learning is an important recent development in technology education [14] The strength of project-based learning is that it simultaneously facilitates both problem solving and self-learning The literature

Correspondence to W.-J Shyr (shyrwj@cc.ncue.edu.tw)

ß 2010 Wiley Periodicals Inc

93

reveals compelling evidence that the project-based approach

assists students in applying knowledge to solve practical design

problems by providing a means to learn by doing [15,16] At

Monash University, one of the approaches to mechatronics

education is mainly through a project-based course In this

pedagogical approach, the synergistic combination of

tradi-tional lecture-type of teaching and projects were presented

to students This project-based approach is believed useful in

the providing for hands-on engineering experience for

mecha-tronics undergraduate students It deals with and reports on

the successfully utilization of virtual instrumentation for

mechatronics projects and engaging the students to learn

intuitively They were able to successfully complete their

mechatronics projects within a short span of 13 weeks [17] A

project was used successfully in a university-wide freshman

engineering course that introduces computer programming and

where example problems were taken from all engineering

departments [18]

Lima et al [19] explore the extent to which students and

teachers are able to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of a

shift in project-based approach to teaching and learning from a

traditional, teacher-centered perspective towards project- and

learner-centered education It reports on a case study aimed at

exploring students’ and teachers’ perceptions of a project-led

education course carried out at an engineering course at a Portuguese

university Lilliesko¨ld and O¨ stlund [20] described project-based

approach has been successful in implementing and maintaining a

challenging first year engineering course with a high level of training

of generic engineering skills

Group projects are an integral part of the undergraduate

mechatronics course Students are able to develop both practical

and theoretical understanding of mechatronics while working

on group projects They also develop the interpersonal

and communication skills necessary to work in a

multidiscipli-nary field [21] There is a growing need for preparing

students both in theory and practice so that they are well

prepared to meet the challenges of the job market A strong

multi-disciplinary background is required of new engineering

graduates [22]

A set of heuristic guidelines has been developed to help

students realize group project goals [23,24] These guidelines help

students work effectively within a team environment and present

projects utilizing different media outlets, such as writing technical

reports for group projects and making oral presentations It

includes lecture topics covered in class, project requirements,

evaluation methods, material resources, and support from the

electronic and machine shops As the field and application of

mechatronics grow, technology education must grow with it to

meet the changing needs of students and industry Laboratory

experiments play an important role in supporting student learning,

because the best way to learn the capabilities of any technology is

to apply it yourself For this reason, the undergraduate program

allocates funds and a special room to accommodate laboratory

experiments for mechatronics

GUIDELINES FOR GROUP PROJECTS

Since the particular technical aspects of laboratories will be a

function of the emphasis given by the individual teacher, the

guidelines presented here will focus on those general concepts

that should apply across technical content

Group projects allow students to practice the topics covered

in the course and fulfill project requirements The project requirements for group projects are the second part of the group projects homework They must work in groups of three or four students The project requirements also include a written proposal, work schedule, written report and presentations The first requirement they must fulfill is a written proposal The groups conceive their project topics according to their own interests The groups then write a proposal for their project The project requires construction of a mechanical device; design and construction of the necessary electronics, sensors and writing software The teacher reads each proposal and meets with the groups During these meetings, the teacher has the option of increasing or decreasing the scope of the group projects This is done to make sure that all of the group projects have the same level of complexity

After projects are selected the groups are required to submit project schedule lines During the mechatronics course the teacher regularly checks if the projects are on schedule Devia-tions from the schedule are discussed and schedule changes are noted The work schedules have been an excellent tool to mini-mize procrastination

Along with the completed group projects the students must submit a written report The report is written primarily for a mechatronics audience and helps the teacher gauge the level of mechatronics understanding each group has The report is kept as

a valuable resource for future students

Finally, the students can make two presentations The first presentation is required for grading purposes This presentation focuses more on the technical aspects of their projects The optional second presentation is given to a general audience comprised of other group members and students This is a showcase presentation, where students proudly showcase their achievements These two presentations show the students that a presentation must be tailored to a particular audience This is also

an opportunity to feel proud about what they have accomplished and share what they have learned

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

In the engineering field, the term ‘‘project’’ refers to a unit of work, usually defined on the basis of the client Almost every task undertaken in professional practice by an engineer is related to a project Projects have varying time scales A project such as the construction of a large dam or power station may take several years some engineers may be involved in numerous small projects for various clients at any given time Despite their varying complexity, all projects are related in some way

to the fundamental theories and techniques of a specific engineering discipline Small projects may involve only one engineering specialty, but larger projects are usually multi-disciplinary, involving engineers from different specializations as well as other professional and non-professional personnel and teams

Problem-based learning is widely regarded as a successful and innovative method for engineering education In comparison

to traditional engineering curricula, the PBL approach appears to inspire a higher degree of involvement in study activities and, consequently, a higher level of complex comprehension [25] PBL education builds on the students’ background, expectations, and interests It is common for students to be motivated to work

much harder with the PBL model than with traditional teaching

methods [26]

Project-based learning incorporates philosophies and

prac-tices of active-learning, problem-based learning, project

manage-ment and service learning The goal of problem-based learning is

active learning via the following: (1) using open-ended problems,

(2) requiring students to solve open-ended problems using small

collaborative groups and (3) facilitating and coaching students

by asking ‘‘meta-cognitive’’ questions In short, problem-based

learning encourages self-directed learning [27]

Project-based learning may also be applied in individual

courses or throughout a curriculum [28] According to Heitmann,

project-oriented study involves the use of small projects within

individual courses This format culminates in a final year project

course The projects usually employ traditional teaching methods

within the same course They focus on the application, and

possibly the integration, of previously acquired knowledge

Projects may be performed individually or in small groups

Project-organized curricula use projects as the structuring

principle of the entire curriculum with subject-oriented courses

eliminated entirely or delivered only in relation to a specific

project Students work in small groups with a project team of

teachers who are advisers and consultants Projects are

under-taken throughout the course and vary in duration from a

few weeks to a whole year

Project-based learning involves engaging students in

inves-tigation Within this framework, students pursue solutions to

nontrivial problems by posing and refining questions, debating

ideas, making predictions, designing plans or experiments,

collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions,

communicat-ing their ideas and findcommunicat-ings to others, askcommunicat-ing new questions and

creating artifacts [29]

DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE PROJECTS

A range of projects was carefully selected for project-based

learning approach adopted The following examples provide

some of the typical group projects They are Wind-power

generator, Remote control vehicle for topography, Automatic

following cart, Automatic multi-function wardrobe and

Full-automatic canopy controlling module

Wind-Power Generator

Resources of the earth are fewer and fewer The electricity is the

indispensable energy So the wind power is used in the future It is

unlimited and environmental; therefore, this project decides the

dissertation for wind-power generator The idea of this

dis-sertation is to design the wind power’s structure; moreover, using

the single-chip, control the direction of the blade rotation The

electric power flow into a rechargeable battery, and supply a 40 W

light bulb However, the wind power is too expensive and the

structure is too large, therefore, to make a small wind-power

generator for a family or a plant can help saving on resources The

flowchart of this project is shown in Figure 1 and the product is

shown in Figure 2

Nowadays, wind- power generation is too expensive This

gives us motivation to design a wind-power generator for general

family use This project uses single-chip to combine all the

function

Remote Control Vehicle for Topography With the progress of science and technology, the popularization

of Internet network and widely using broadband transmission, various kinds of network technologies grow vigorously Remote control of software and technology are also applied in our life gradually Almost all products are related to the network features This project researches and develops the main function and builds in wireless communication network This project integrates wireless communication with one video-information car The product can use wireless network to transmit the signals back to computers The product combines with Internet network service and wireless network module to design remote wireless control system, it only use IE control interface to control remote

Figure 1 The flowchart of wind-power generator

Figure 2 Wind-power generator

hardware equipment The flowchart of this project is shown in

Figure 3 and the product is shown in Figure 4

Wireless communication and computer are integrated to

remotely control directions of the vehicle for topography

Wireless communication uses for message transmission from

the vehicle back to computer It is convenient to operate due to the

utilization of IE control interface

Automatic Following Cart

The aim of this project is developing a cart that can move

automatically Transportation is one important part in our life

Transportation by handcart is not only time-saving but also avoids

wasting manpower However, if using a handcart is convenient,

the cart still needs someone to set it action People cannot carry

things to heavy to bear To increase transportation efficiency,

infrared ray and direct current motor devices are proposed to

control and move the cart The flowchart of this project is shown

in Figure 5 and the product is shown in Figure 6

This project stabilizes the handcart by strengthening the cart body User security is provided by a sensor that prevents collisions

Full-Automatic Canopy Controlling Module The full-automatic canopy controlling module is direct against to the manual canopy and half-automatic canopy to improve to be full-automatic one The project is created by a circuit with the light and rainwater sensors This project uses the signal that sensor-circuit output to making gain After making gain of signal,

it makes these signals to compare with each other Input the signal that has compared to the single-chip And then the single-chip module controls movements of the automatic canopy The automatic canopy will determine according to the intensity of illumination at that time that the canopy lengthen or shorten But

if it rains, the circuit of rainwater-sensor output a signal to the single-chip, then all movements will be cancelled, the canopy is stretched out to get longest The flowchart of this project is shown

in Figure 7 and the product is shown in Figure 8

This product can detect and examine the intensity of illumination and rain; moreover, it has the automatic functions of open and close It does not need to buy the new canopy, so long as

to add and install this control module and special-purpose motor additionally, it can become the full-automatic canopy

Figure 3 The flowchart of remote control vehicle for topography

Figure 4 Remote control vehicle for topography

Figure 5 The flowchart of automatic following cart

Figure 6 Automatic following cart

Automatic Multi-Function Wardrobe

The purpose of this project is to develop a fully automatic and

extremely versatile wardrobe It is necessary to have a dryer or

place desiccant into a wardrobe to maintain the clothes and avoid

mildew However, the dryer occupies space and the desiccant

requires regular replacement This wardrobe effectively applies

cybernation to integrate dryer and dehumidifier functions It

also uses electronic sensors to control the fan and heater using

single-chip IC Furthermore, this unit can monitor the wardrobe

status using temperature and humidity detectors To user security

the wardrobe is installed with a step-less door switch The pilot

display interface for the wardrobe is easy to use This product can

dry clothes within a shorter time and also maintain clothes in the

best condition The product of this project is shown in Figure 9

and the flowchart is shown in Figure 10

The user can observe the temperature, humidity, and time

information from the monitor The proposed wardrobe can

manage clothes made of different materials and dry them as fast

as others in the market

ASSESSMENT IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

The assessment methods in this course include allocating a shared

group mark based on the process of task and product development

and by adjusting individual grades based on individual effort and

activities Assessment also involves peer and self-assessment as

well as teacher assessment The following forms of assessment are met in the course Table 1 compares assessment methods between traditional and project-based instruction

Group Assessment Project Report and System Testing Writing a project report is particularly important to the process The project report requires students to record the procedures, observations, and results from practical activities At the end of the semester, a final report and a prototype program (the product) should be submitted to the supervisor for assessment It should include source documents and system documents such as data model, data dictionary, and data flow diagrams

The program code should also be included When the students give their final group presentations, they must demon-strate the system and its functions in detail

Weekly and Final Group Presentation An extensively adopted means of assessing group work is the monthly oral group presentations, which are given during class Teams must report on

Figure 7 The flowchart of full-automatic canopy controlling module

Figure 8 Full-automatic canopy controlling module

Figure 9 Automatic multi-function wardrobe

the status of their projects The students decide whether the

presentations are given by a group representative or by all group

members The advantage is that students can develop their

presentation skills as well as skills and knowledge in specific

subjects The assessment can be based on the quality of the

presentation, the quality of content, overall effectiveness, and

practical activities

Individual Assessment

Portfolio Assessment A portfolio accumulates student work that

exhibits the efforts, progress, and achievements of students in one

or more areas of the curriculum [30] The portfolios in the

proposed method have two purposes

The first is to demonstrate the knowledge, understanding,

skills, values, and attitudes of the students in relation to the

area of study Secondly, constructing the portfolio is itself an

important process for developing lifelong learning skills

Throughout the project, each student is required to keep an

individual logbook The logbooks are also part of their portfolios

Students can note their activities any time and record

observa-tions related to their personal contribuobserva-tions to the project, the particular problems encountered and how they dealt with them Verbal Progress Report Each team member must present

a weekly progress report during class meetings The presen-tation themes emphasize a review of the current project plan and highlight any variance from the expected progress of the teams The specific themes, for example, analyzing and collecting data, are sometimes assigned to students in advance The report is intended to assess student performance and provide feedback It also enables students to improve their individual presentation skills, which is a common weakness in many students Individual assessment may be based partly on these presentations The teacher grades the presentations and gives comments and suggestions for improvement

Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment One goal of education is

to enable students to assess their own work and that of others Peer and self-assessment can help students develop their ability to make judgments and give evaluations, which are necessary skills for lifelong learning and professional life

Figure 10 The flowchart of automatic multi-function wardrobe

Of course, students naturally have difficulty when asked to

report their own feelings, thinking processes, weaknesses, and

strengths Reporting on the performance of their peers is even

more difficult In this course, students are encouraged to comment

but not give grades

Individual reports require students to assess their own roles

in the group Students are required to write self-assessment

reports to summarize and evaluate learning activities at the end of

semester This report encourages students to review their

own performance and personal contribution to the group and to

reflect on their learning attitudes Each team member is required

to generate a narrative peer evaluation The narrative may be

based on their assessment of the overall interaction with group

members, participation in group decisions and contribution to

the work load Students are not required to give marks to the

peers because some problems can arise if students are

exces-sively concerned about their marks For example, some students

give everyone favorable marks because they hope to receive

favorable marks from those students Therefore, the main

concern is what students can learn from peer assessment As a

result of this process, students gain a better appreciation of

the skills being developed and learn how to work effectively

in groups

Oral Examination In the individual oral examination at the end

of the course, the teacher focuses on the knowledge and skills

needed to master the course In order to give a fair individual

mark, some specific questions may be asked to determine

whether students learned from and contributed to the group

presentations and final project The teacher should be able to

identify good students and other non-contributors in each

group

EVALUATIONS Evaluation is a major contributor to raise standards at universities in terms of teaching, learning and students’ achievements Evaluation quality has a significant impact on challenging students to work hard and encouraging teachers to focus on how to improve the learning attitude of individual students Evaluation takes place all the time because making judgments is something that everyone does personally and to others [31]

How the group projects are graded is an important part of the course guidelines A panel composed of the teacher and other students grade the group projects The panel discusses each project and votes on the project grade The students also evaluate each group member The students submit a signed peer evaluation form containing the percentage effort each group member made

to the project The final individual group project grade is a combination of the project grade and effort percentages from the peer evaluation This evaluation method ensures that each student gets a fair grade

The mechatronics course evaluation is also based on both individual and group achievements The individual component is based on periodic reports and individual homework The absence

of traditional exams is in keeping with the nature of the course and the material coverage level The various group activities are the basis for the group grading component and assume special importance in light of the significant amount of time allocated Evaluation is based on individual and group achievements The evaluation strategy for the mechatronics pilot course was designed to measure student performance in each of the outcomes and student perceptions of their learning from participating in course activities

Table 1 Traditional Instruction and Project-Based Instruction Comparison

Criteria Traditional instruction Project-based instruction

Content Knowledge of facts Comprehension of concepts and principles

Scope and sequence Follows fixed curriculum Follows student interests

Move from unit to unit Narrow, content area focus

Large units composed of complex problems or issues Broad, interdisciplinary focus

Teacher’s role Lecturer and director of instruction Resource provider

Expert Advisory/mentor Assessment Products Process and product

Test scores Tangible accomplishments Reproduction of information Demonstration of understanding Classroom materials Texts, lectures and presentations

Teacher/book company—developed worksheets and activities

Direct or original sources, printed materials, interviews, and documents Data and materials developed by students

Use of technology Ancillary, peripheral Central, integral

Administered by teachers Directed by students Type of student

involvement

Students working alone Students competing with one another Students receiving information

Students working in groups Students collaborating Students constructing, contributing, and synthesizing information Student role Carry out instructions Carry out self-directed experiences

Memorize and repeat facts Discover, integrate, and present ideas Listen, behave, speak only when spoken to Communicate, show affect, produce, take responsibility Goals Knowledge of facts, terms, and content

Mastery of isolated skills Breadth of knowledge Graduates who have knowledge to perform

on standardized achievement tests

Understanding and application of complex ideas and processes Mastery of integrated skills

Depth of knowledge Graduates who have the disposition and skills to engage in sustained, autonomous, lifelong learning

All of the students successfully completed and demonstrated

projects None of the students failed the course The final grades

obtained by the students were quite good

Several approaches to evaluating the system are possible

One method of evaluating a teaching and learning approach is to

measure teacher and student satisfaction An evaluation form was

designed to measure the usability and effectiveness of the system

on a five-point Likert scale from 1 for ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to 5 for

‘‘strongly agree.’’ The items employed to measure the usability of

the approach reflected its usefulness Therefore, user satisfaction

could be assessed as an indicator of the success of the approach

Expert Evaluation

Domain expert evaluations were used to help determine the

accuracy of the embedded knowledge and the effectiveness of the

teaching approach The group project-based approach was

validated by a group of 10 participants All were university

professors and/or researchers with an average more than 3 years

of experience in instruction, therefore each expert had a strong

background in engineering education Overall, the expert

evaluations were generally positive

Student Evaluation

The mechatronics course was inaugurated in the Department of

Industrial Education and Technology at National Changhua

University of Education, where 20 students enrolled this course

A questionnaire, which had been validated, and containing 10

items inquiring about students’ experiences was administered to

all participants

Evaluation Results

Table 2 summarizes the expert and student responses to the

questionnaire Both groups rated the innovative group

project-based approach highly project-based on the results of the evaluation

A further analysis was conducted to investigate whether or

not experts and potential users differed in their mean ratings of

the effectiveness and usability of the system Since the sample

size is small, the Non-parametric Mann
Whitney U-tests were

used and the results are presented in Table 2 The level of significancea is selected to be 0.05 The corresponding two-tail critical value is1.96 Except for items 4 and 6, the mean ratings

of the experts regarding the effectiveness and usability of the system did not significantly differ from those of the students system

DATA COLLECTION AND DISCUSSION Method

The experimental method provides students in the mechatronics course with basic knowledge via a project-based approach Additionally, the experimental method is actively used; it improves skills and observation ability, and it reinforces knowledge The experimental method develops science and analysis skills and acting skills of students The experiment and control groups in this study were given two different examinations, pretest and posttest examinations

Achievement Tests The academic success tests, pretest, and posttest were carefully and repeatedly reviewed by 10 education experts After being modified precisely, these tests were finally finished The pretest and posttest examinations included questions about project-based topics The pretest was comprised of 10 questions designed to assess the performance of the students in the project-based activity The pretest was given to both groups at the start of the course The posttest was given to both groups after the mechatronics course

Sampling This study utilizes a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design that is a suitable alternative to an experimental design when randomization is not possible The nonequivalent control group design can be utilized as a nonequivalent com-parison group design involving two treatments Since the subjects

in this design were not randomly assigned, entire classes of

Table 2 Evaluation Questionnaire Results

Evaluation items

Students (n ¼ 20) Experts (n ¼ 10) Difference between experts and

students Mann
Whitney U-test (significance level)

M SD M SD

1 The projects done were useful for learning mechatronics 4.15 0.489 4.00 0.000
1.019 (0.308)

2 The background information was useful in understanding

the content area

4.35 0.489 4.20 0.632
0.601 (0.548)

3 The guidelines for group projects were understandable 3.90 0.308 3.80 0.422
0.747 (0.455)

4 The guidelines for group projects were useful 4.10 0.447 3.20 0.422
3.944 (0.000)*

5 I could follow the guides given in project without requiring

much assistance

3.80 0.523 4.10 0.316
1.639 (0.101)

6 The course was challenging 4.10 0.308 3.80 0.422
2.086 (0.037)*

7 The material resources were well supplied 4.40 0.503 4.10 0.316
1.662 (0.097)

8 The evaluations, overall, provided useful feedback on my

progress

4.30 0.470 4.20 0.422
0.574 (0.566)

9 I am happy with my performance in the mechatronics course 4.15 0.366 4.30 0.483
0.952 (0.341)

10 The mechatronics course, overall, was useful and motivating 4.25 0.444 4.00 0.664
1.096 (0.273)

*P < 0.05

students were randomly assigned to either the experimental group

or the control group Both groups took a pretest and a posttest

This study sampled 40 students (2 female and 38 male; average

22 years old) from the intact class at the Department of Industrial

Education and Technology at National Changhua University of

Education, Taiwan Each group contained 20 students The

duration of the mechatronics course was the same for both groups

(project-based and traditional instructional) The time that

students spent on individual study were also assumed to be

identical

Data Analysis

The survey test was used as a pretest and a posttest of both the

control group and the experimental group The test was given in

the classroom before the course started and after the end of the

course The SPSS data analysis software was used to analyze the

research data The significance level was set to 0.05 for the entire

statistical analysis Likert-type item responses ranged from 0 to

10 with increasing numbers indicating higher levels of interest or

importance A pretest was administered to equalize the

experi-ment and control groups Table 3 indicates these test results The

numbers in the table represent the mean (M) and the standard

deviation (SD) of the student responses The tests revealed no

significant differences between the experimental and control

groups (t ¼ 0.00, P > 0.05), which indicates that the experimental

and control groups were identical

Results

To identify significantly different average posttest scores between

the experiment and control groups, this study performed an

independentt-test at 0.05 of significance level Table 4 presents

these test results Closely examining Table 4 reveals that the

average posttest scores significantly differed between the

experimental and control groups The higher average scores in

the experimental group revealed the effectiveness of the proposed

course design for enhancing the academic performance of the

students The test results showed statistically significant

dif-ferences between the groups (t ¼ 4.376, P < 0.05) Thus,

significant differences in the posttest scores of the experimental

and control group students were confirmed: the experimental

group outperformed the control group

The general findings of this study are the following (1) Both groups had very similar pretest results (2) The posttest results demonstrate that the mechatronics course was valuable to both groups (3) The students in the experimental group were more successful than those in the control group Further analysis of the test results demonstrates that the project-based approach significantly enhanced the effectiveness of the mechatronics course

CONCLUSIONS Mechatronics is a design domain that is best taught with a laboratory component The guidelines presented here have proven very successful at generating excitement and enthusiasm among students in the mechatronics courses at National Changhua University of Education They should serve as an effective starting point for the development of individualized guidelines applicable

to any laboratory oriented mechatronics course These examples of group projects show that the project guidelines were effective The students enjoy working within this framework, as evidenced by the craftsmanship and time devoted to their projects At the end of the semester students often realize how much they have learned while working on group projects and discussing projects with the teacher and their peers All of the example projects were completed within one semester Although the current homework is both effective and efficient, it is constantly being redefined to maximize the potential

of group projects The innovative group project-based approach adopted in the mechatronics course was found very effective Overall student satisfaction with the learning activities has been high

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Table 3 The t-Test Results of the Experiment and Control Groups

According to Their Pretest Scores

Group N M SD df t

Control 20 5.80 0.62 38 0.00

Experimental 20 5.80 0.83

*P < 0.05

Table 4 The t-Test Results of the Experiment and Control Groups

According to Their Posttest Scores

Group N M SD df t

Control 20 7.95 0.60 38 4.376*

Experimental 20 8.75 0.55

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BIOGRAPHY

Wen-Jye Shyr is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Education and Technology at National Changhua University

of Education, Taiwan His current research is

in the mechatronics, graphical human inter-face, sensors, artificial intelligent, and engi-neering education