Adopting Problem-based Learning in the Teaching of Engineering Undergraduates: A Malaysian Experience

Abstract

Teaching undergraduates at tertiary level is surely not an easy task what more when your students are engineering undergraduates who need to be competent not only in the content area but the generic skills as well. Surveys suggest that the generic aspect demand equal if not greater emphasis in order to produce competent marketable graduates. However, in Malaysia many undergraduates come from an exam- oriented schooling system that lacks the ingredient to develop both the content and generic skills. To add salt to injury Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), is a new university and half of the academic staff members are young and new to the teaching profession whose teaching approach have been greatly influenced and dependent upon the conventional way they had been taught themselves while studying at school and university - lacking in varieties and mainly lectures! Realizing this alarming situation, in 2005, UTHM formally embarked on a bold yet challenging journey into the world of Problem-based Learning (PBL) involving 30 academic staff from the various faculties who were to become pioneers and form the PBL Task Force of the university. Despite the uncertainty of venturing into new territory these mixed of young and senior lecturers dedicate themselves into making mastering PBL by attending training sessions both locally and abroad, conducting talks with experts in the field, participating in module development workshops and finally putting into practice what they have learned in their own classes for a whole semester. Our findings reveal that not only did the students benefit in the content area but also greatly gain in the equally crucial aspect of human resource development that is the generic skills like leadership, analytical thinking, conflict management, decision making and many skills. They also said that despite the greater amount of work undertaken it was compensated by the huge volume of knowledge, skills and positive values they acquired without which they would have been deprived if learning was mainly using the conventional way that they were used to.