Epistemological Tension in Project-Based Learning: Fabricated and Propagated Knowledge Through Practical and Formal Lenses

摘要

Similarities between the characteristics of project-based learning (PBL) and those of engineering practice make curricula incorporating PBL ideal for undergraduate engineering coursework. Given the suitability of PBL for engineering coursework, the present work explores students' epistemological stances within a PBL environment. Through semi-structured interviews with students enrolled in a project-based introductory civil engineering course, the present work explores how students mediate their engagement through practical and formal epistemological lenses. In particular, this report finds that students initially struggle to find academic authenticity in the project-based learning environment, suggesting there are tensions between both propagated and fabricated knowledge and between students' formal and practical epistemologies in engineering during their engagement in PBL. By the conclusion of the course, however, many students resolve this epistemological tension, finding value in active learning and identifying learning outcomes from the course syllabus.