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Integrating project-based learning in an Electrical Machines course

Abstract:

This article describes the teaching-learning method implementation 'project-based learning' PBL on a university chair. It was sought that the students through real-life situations acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes within the subject of Electrical Machines at the undergraduate level of Electrical Engineering at the Catholic University of Cuenca. The resolution problems of static machines were similar to those on professional life. The students had the ability to identify a static machine, operation, parameters, equivalent circuits (tests in open-circuit and short-circuit), losses calculation, and the hysteresis cycle data. Because these concepts are abstract and difficult to assimilate for them. For this reason, this research demonstrates the best learning performance of students. The PBL applied to the learning of static machines is a good teaching tool. An improvement of 7 points out of 100 was obtained in relation to the average of the scores of three students groups from previous semesters. Moreover, the standard deviation is lower in the experimental group (SD 4.5584). This shows that the best performance was present in most of the students. In this way, the students not lost the scholastic year, nor there was a supplementary exam in this group.