Project Organized Learning - POL
What is a problem based project?
• The Aalborg model:
– PBL, Projects, Team work
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•
•
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A four phase model of a Project
Analysing: why, what and how?
Reflection for action
Exercise, start analysing your project
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The Aalborg model
- one way of dealing with PBL
Key words:
• Problem based learning
• Projects
• Team work
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Team work
What ?
• A group of students working together on a
project
• They have to both carry out the project and
document the results
• Based on the documentation there is a group
examination, but the marks are individual
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Team work
Why ?
• A survey in 1997 showed that 75% of the
companies wanted new employees to have
good skills in team work
• The individual student in the group learns
from the others (synergy)
• Extra: Responsibility towards the group
leads to very hard work
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Team work
How ?
• Each group has a group room
• Group size of 6-8 students first year, 2-3
students last year
• Students are in charge of forming groups
• Team building courses:
– Roles, communication, co-operation, conflicts
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Projects
What ?
• A unique task
• Have a lot of complex activities
• Needs several people with different skills
• Have a final goal/objective
• Limited resources (time, money, people)
• Have to deliver a result at a given time:
– As a minimum a written report
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Projects
Why ?
• More and more companies use project
organization
• Much engineering work is performed as
projects
• Motivates the students
• Leads to student activity
• Improves documentation skills
• Secures deep learning in subjects covered in
the project
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Projects
How ?
• One project each semester
• Necessary theories and methods given in
project courses
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Structure of a semester:
Study courses
Project courses
Examination
50% - 33%
50% - 67%
Project
Examination
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Timing of a semester
Project courses
Study courses
Project
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Projects
How ?
• One project each semester
• Necessary theories and methods given in
project courses
• Each group has (at least) one supervisor
• Documentation:
– a written report, oral defence, (construction)
• Courses in:
– project management and planning
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Problem based learning
What ?
• The project groups choose their own
problem to work with in the projects
• The problem has to be analyzed within a
relevant context before it can be solved or
analyzed further
• The problem determines the choice of
methods and theories to be used
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Problem based learning
Why ?
• Real world problems are interdisciplinary and
complex
• It is a learner-centred process
• It meets the learners' interests and enhances
motivation
• It emphasizes development of analytical,
methodological and transferable skills
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Problem based learning
How ?
You try to solve real problems and to learn
most about them you:
• Wonder
• Doubt
• Ask questions
• Point out contradictions
• Analyse what seems obviously
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A four phase model of a Project
Student
Project
too broad
Industriel
Project
Analyse
Design
Implementation
Test
P0
P1
Student
The ideal
Project
too narrow Student Project
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Why is analysing important?
LP
Wife
Water
What shall I do to get to my wife?
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What is analysis?
Get an overview of the problem
• Asking Questions
• See Perspectives
Divide into different aspects
• Top Down
• Bottum Up
Look critically at all aspects
• Estimate
• Measure
• Compare
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•
How to start analysing –
presentation of two tools
The six W- model
What?
Why?
Whom?
•
How?
Post It Brain storm
1.
2.
3.
4.
Where?
Problem
When?
Everybody writes keywords on Post It notes for 5 min
All notes are placed on the blackboard
All notes are read out
Everybody goes to the blackboard and structures the notes
together
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Semester Theme
Problem-based project-organised learning in
Electrical Engineering and Information
Technology.
Purpose:
• To give the students a comprehension and
understanding of the problem-based learning
method, which is being used at AAU.
• To give the students experience with project work in
connection with problems within the areas: Electrical
Engineering and Information Technology, together
with the corresponding documentation (report
writing).
• To give the students knowledge in specific areas
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related to their choice of specialisation.
Contents:
P0: (1 period, 5 weeks)
• Preparation of problem formulation, project
delimitation and time schedule for the P1-work.
• The supervisor will give a short description of the
initiating problem.
• The students will carry out analysis, identification of
central knowledge areas, knowledge seeking, and
planning of the P1-project period.
• P0 is ended with a common evaluation seminar,
where the students present their work and receive
criticism from supervisors and fellow students.
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Reflection for action
• If someone in your group has some
experience with project work/group work the
discus it with the other group members.
• Based on the purpose of the semester and
the specific content of the P0 period, discus
your expectations to the P0 period and to
each other.
• Write the expectations on a slide as key
words and present it for the other groups.
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How is the structure of a project
report?
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•
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•
•
•
•
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•
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FrontPage – often with a picture/illustration
Title page – with all relevant information
Preface – guidance, acknowledge
Contents – to get an overview of the project
Chapter 1 – remember references
:
Chapter n – remember references
Literature
Appendix – what you have accomplished
Enclosure – ”copies” from others
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How to make references
1.
The Harvard method (Jensen, 2001a:21)
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/harvard.html
2.
By numbers [2]
Literature is the listed alphabetic (1) or numbered (2). We
have to know all possible information's to be able to find
the quoted source:
Books: Author(s), year, title, publisher, ISBN or ISSN no.
Journals: As above + name of journal, number and date
Internet: URL and date for downloading
Persons: Name, title, company
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Exercise:
• Use the 6 W- model to start analysing your project.
This way you “walk” around the problem and can be
fairly sure to discover most of the aspects of the
project.
• Afterwards you can use the post it brain storm to find
out both what it would be appropriate to analyse and
to structure the analyse.
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