Developing New Curricula around SC ATE’s Project-Based Learning

How can you maximize the success of a new curriculum? By building in an effective teaching strategy.

That’s what Wayne Community College (WCC), located in Goldsboro, North Carolina, is doing. Following the lead of innovative Industrial Systems Instructor Angela Wall, WCC has chosen to develop, test, and implement a project-based learning curriculum based upon the tremendous student success at both Wayne Community College and the South Carolina Advanced Technology Education (SC ATE) Center at Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC).

The Plan for the New Curriculum

The new Wayne Community College Sustainability Technology curriculum is designed to prepare technicians for environmental, construction, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries where key emphasis is placed on energy production and waste reduction. The program provides excellent local employment opportunities. Internships enable students to gain work experience, connect with local industry leaders for future career opportunities, and “earn while they learn.”

A major component of this new Sustainability Technology curriculum is the project-based learning (PBL) method pioneered by the SC ATE Center at FDTC. This is a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to instruction in which students have the opportunity to participate and practice their skills in math, language/communications, science and technology. The curriculum emphasizes soft skills such as teamwork and problem solving, while also making general education content relevant.

Angela Wall is the tireless WCC champion who is building upon successful efforts of the project-based learning (PBL) pilot that has been conducted through the WCC/SC ATE Center partnership over the past four years, expanding it to include the new Sustainability Technology program. WCC will use SC ATE-developed Technology Gateway scenarios for electricity, mechanics, fluid power, optics, and engineering/technician career exploration, and the SC ATE Center will enhance its collection of challenging scenarios in the Technology Gateway with WCC’s Sustainability Technology problems. The new, relevant PBL industry-based scenarios will engage students in learning and raise awareness and excitement about career possibilities in the emerging energy-related fields.

Beginning with Success

Wayne Community College first introduced PBL using SC ATE’s Technology Gateway (TG) materials and methods in a fall 2007 pilot. The project-based learning EGR 110 Introduction to Engineering Technology class had a success rate of 81%, compared to a 75% success rate for the non-PBL section of the same class. 63% of the PBL EGR 110 students earned an “A.” Students reacted positively to the team-based approach, were more engaged, and had more pride in and satisfaction with their work than in traditional classes.

While all the PBL course results were positive, the developmental math results were particularly astounding. Students in the first PBL semester course achieved a 92% success rate for MAT 070 Introduction to Algebra, compared to the previous 5-year average of 57.4% in traditional classes. The success rate for the fall 2007 project-based learning MAT 070 cohort was 18% higher than the average success rate of traditional classes for the same semester. The average final exam score was more than six points higher (almost one letter grade) than the average of traditional classes for the same semester. Based on the success of the EGR project-based learning courses, the college is continuing to use the PBL community model and has expanded the implementation of PBL into other courses such as MNT 165 Mechanical Industrial Systems and ELC 131 DC/AC Circuit Analysis.

Building Excitement

To attract students to technician education programs, the college works closely with Wayne County Public Schools to offer a variety of academies and technology classes for high school students. Recently, Angela Wall, who had already offered Camp Kill-A-Watt for high school students, mentored a Goldsboro High School student in organizing a middle school alternative energy camp. As a result 16 middle school students attended Camp-Kill-A-Watt for one week in July 2010. The camp offered practical instruction and hands-on experiments in alternative energy production, including wind, solar, fuel cell, temperature differential engines and biofuel technologies. Guest speakers included engineers from Progress Energy. One student stated, “Last year my mom made me come [to camp], but this year I begged to come.” Area employers are also excited about project-based learning. One employer remarked that a student in the pilot PBL course had always been a good employee, but after taking the course he became a leader. Word of the technicians’ success spread, and now three industry employers (Mt. Olive Pickle, Smithfield Packing, and AAR Cargo Systems) want to hire a total of 15 students to intern with their companies.

You Too Can Build on SC ATE’s Program

The SC ATE Center is known as a leader in technician education and for innovative work on the educational “pipeline” that helps  ensure that high school students are ready for and interested in pursuing technology careers and that first-year engineering  technology students are retained and successful in associate degree programs. As a result graduation rates have increased from 12% to as much as 50%, time-to-graduation has been reduced from an average of 3.6 years to 2.2 years for an associate degree, and diversity (primarily African American participation and success) has increased from 14% to as much as 50%. SC ATE has successful models that stand ready to help your project, too.