Productive Failure Pedagogy in Engineering Mechanics

Abstract

In September 2021, the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) introduced a revamped bachelor's programme that emphasizes design for higher complexity, teacher as a coach, and autonomous learning. The programme includes Understanding Product Engineering (UPE), which teaches first-year design students about product embodiment, manufacturing, and mechanics of materials. However, the traditional approach of teaching engineering using direct instructions and problem-based learning was ineffective, as students failed to apply the engineering knowledge in their capstone design projects. To address this issue and promote autonomous learning, the Productive Failure (PF) pedagogical framework was introduced as the main pedagogical framework in UPE. However, the general approach of the PF pedagogy as described by Kapur, lacked a translation into an effective design of the workshops. To address this, this paper proposes a hands-on model based on constructive alignment, where learning objectives, activities, and assessment are designed side-by-side. This paper presents our didactical model, which was developed in an agile way during the second run of UPE. The hands-on model proposed aids in applying the PF pedagogy in engineering courses and consists of a method to develop workshop assignments and a didactical approach to guide and coach students through the workshop process.