Engaging African engineering students with problem-based learning by using the disassembly–assembly technique

Abstract

Problem-based learning identifies problems in ways that are conducive to student learning and emphasizes problem-solving, critical thinking and collaborative skills. These three aspects are core to disassembly–assembly techniques used in higher education where students are required to engage with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning within a laboratory environment. The purpose of this article is to describe a disassembly–assembly technique used in a compulsory engineering module and identify how many African engineering students can successfully create a problem (disassemble a two-stroke motor) and then correctly solve the problem (assemble the two-stroke motor back to a working condition). A longitudinal study involving quantitative data is used with descriptive statistics. Results indicate, that on average, 85.5% of African engineering students can successfully engage with the disassembly–assembly technique. A possible recommendation is to encourage more academics to make use of the disassembly-assembly technique with regard to engineering systems, equipment or machinery.