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Integrating Problem-Based Learning into a Senior Engineering Design Course: A Sustainability-Focused Approach to Microplastic Removal from Stormwater
Summary
A 15-week problem-based learning curriculum for senior engineering students used field visits, interactive modules, and hands-on FIJI image analysis to design sustainable microplastic removal systems for stormwater, demonstrating PBL's effectiveness for bridging theory and real-world environmental engineering challenges. Developing the next generation of engineers equipped with practical microplastic removal skills is critical infrastructure for addressing the stormwater runoff that carries plastic particles directly into aquatic ecosystems.
This article showcases an integrated educational curriculum for a senior design project course that introduced problem-based learning (PBL). Various sustainable approaches to removing plastic particles from stormwater were investigated, and one of these approaches was applied to design an optimum system for removing microplastics from stormwater. A customized learning solution (CLS), was tailored to senior students for their design project, which included a field site visit, interactive modules through PBL, assessments (project plan, preliminary design, intermediate design, and a final project report), a guest lecture, Kahoot quizzes, and hands-on experience using the FIJI software (release date 10 July 2023) program, along with an oral presentation by the student group. The PBL-integrated senior design project comprised 15 weeks of class activities. Overall, the PBL-integrated CLS approach revealed the students’ abilities to develop a successful design project to mitigate plastic pollution and allowed them to gain experiential learning in the field. Further application of PBL-integrated coursework is discussed by identifying the strengths and challenges of implementing PBL and suggestions for improvement. PBL integration into an engineering design course is recommended to create a framework for developing a curriculum in higher education, thereby exposing students to applications to real-world problems by reducing the gap between theory and practice.