An Action Research on the Long-Term Implementation of an Engineering-Centered PjBL of Sustainable Energy in a Rural Middle School

Chin-Sung Chen and Jing-Wen Lin
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Chin-Sung Chen: Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Dong-Hwa University, Hualien 974301, Taiwan
Jing-Wen Lin: Department of Science Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei 10671, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-25

Abstract: (1) Background: Due to the high proportion of disadvantaged students in a rural school in Taiwan and the gap between students’ concepts and practices of environmental protection and sustainable energy, four science and mathematics teachers in this school planned an engineering-centred PjBL of sustainable energy curriculum in a Makers Club to enhance students’ creativity, engineering technical skills, practices of environmental protection and sustainable energy, and learning attitudes; (2) Methods: This study is a four-year action research. Teachers and students initiated the idea from rebuilding an old fan in a classroom; (3) Results: The students in the Makers Club improved their engineering technical skills and created various green-power generation devices (evolved from a ventilation ball generator, hydropower, ocean current power generators to tiny, 3D-printing wind power generators). They turned environmental protection and sustainable energy concepts into actions during practices and won awards from science and engineering fairs every year. This creative and supportive atmosphere spread from the club to the whole school and improved the students’ practices of environmental protection and learning attitudes after long-term implementation; (4) Conclusions: The design principles of the engineering-centred PjBL of sustainable energy curriculum played a critical role and were outlined at the end of the study.

Keywords: engineering education; engineering-centred PjBL; power generation systems; sustainable energy; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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