Transforming Engineering Education through Project-Based Learning: A Solar Water Heater Case Study for Teaching Thermodynamics
Academic Article in Scopus
Engineering education faces the challenge of promoting a meaningful understanding of thermodynamic principles while engaging students in sustainability-focused learning; in response, this study presents a Project-Based Learning (PBL) intervention centered on the design and construction of a solar water heater, implemented over five weeks with 45 first-year engineering students at a higher education institution in Mexico. The experience followed a structured methodology that integrated literature review, analytical heat transfer modeling, prototype construction, experimental testing, and computational simulation, and was evaluated through a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative data from a 23-item Likert-scale questionnaire with qualitative feedback from open-ended questions, with instrument reliability confirmed using Cronbach's alpha (¿ = 0.925). Results show high levels of student engagement and satisfaction, with over 90% of responses indicating agreement or strong agreement regarding the effectiveness of the PBL approach, alongside reported improvements in understanding thermodynamic concepts, particularly heat transfer, and the development of key engineering competencies such as problem-solving, teamwork, and technical communication. Overall, the findings suggest that hands-on, sustainability-oriented PBL experiences can significantly enhance learning outcomes in early engineering education, offering a replicable pedagogical framework that integrates thermodynamics, sustainability, and active learning within limited academic timeframes while helping bridge the gap between theory and real-world application.
