Development of learning modules for sustainable life cycle product design: a constructionist approach

摘要

Constructionism is a learning theory in which learners construct their own understanding and knowledge by making a useful product. A cyberlearning environment for sustainable product design and life cycle engineering has been developed based on this approach through a multi-university research project, entitled "Constructionism in Learning: Sustainable Life Cycle Engineering (CooL:SLiCE)." The pedagogic significance of CooL:SLiCE is that it enables better learning within the sustainable engineering domain by utilizing effective learning modules for personalized environmentally responsible product design. The CooL:SLiCE platform provides a web-based portal with three learning modules: 1) Visualization and online computer-aided design (CAD), 2) Sustainable product architecture and supplier selection (S-PASS), and 3) Manufacturing analysis. These modules were first piloted by a team of students from three universities with different engineering backgrounds who were asked to design a sustainable multicopter attachment through the tools developed for a web-based portal. This paper provides a case study of this intercollegiate collaborative pilot project developed from multiple data sources and describes the effectiveness of constructionism to engage students in learning sustainable product design concepts.