Background: Problem-oriented project work, also known as problem and project-based learning (PBL), is a popular educational approach in engineering education. However, the focus of the literature on the implementation of PBL has been at the course and institutional levels. Scant attention has been paid to the student experience, especially…

This study explores how engineering students develop learner agency in an intercultural PBL (problem- and project-based learning) environment, along with the factors that affect their development. Theoretically, learner agency is framed within three interrelated dimensions: intrapersonal, behavioural, and environmental. A narrative inquiry…

Despite an emerging emphasis on the role of engineers in achieving the SDGs, there is still a lack of agreement on which competencies should be prioritised to prepare them to tackle future sustainability challenges. By formulating a theoretical framework of key sustainable competencies based on prior studies, this study investigated engineering…

This paper presents how a ninth semester teaching programme created employability skills among students. During the semester, students were expected to collaborate with a company or an organization to solve a task set by the external partner. The students used their academic and analytical skills and competences as a part of working with the…

This study explores early career academics' (ECAs) professional learning in a Danish university's Professional Learning (PL) program, based on problem- and project-based learning (PBL) principles. Using a complexity theory lens, professional learning is viewed as a dynamic process involving intrapersonal, behavioral, relational, and contextual…

Employing student-driven project work in a higher education setting challenges not only the way in which we understand students' learning and how we define the expected learning outcomes, it also challenges our ways of assessing students' learning. This paper will address this question specifically and illustrate with a case that highlights some…

Since its establishment in 1974, Aalborg University has aimed to deliver cutting-edge research and innovative practices in engineering education. However, increasing complexity related to rapid developments in digitalization and emerging societal challenges offer new opportunities, requirements, and expectations across disciplines for educational…

This paper conducts a theoretical exploration of the inquiry-problem in problem-oriented pedagogies. Specifically, the article draws on a critical reflection of the addition of a global and internationalisation dimension to the problem-oriented project learning (PPL) pedagogic model at Roskilde University in Denmark. While the tradition of PPL has…

This article presents experiences and reflections from two cases of problem-oriented project work working with action research in bottom-up urban planning and sustainable transition in Copenhagen. The first case concerns the involvement of local residents in the redesign of a public square through a series of aesthetic experiments. The second case…

This paper addresses one of the major confusions in the study and practice of problem-based learning today, namely the use of the term "problem-based learning" to refer to both the small-group tutorial method pioneered by McMaster University and Maastricht University in medical education, and the problem-oriented project-work method…

Medical education strives to foster effective education of medical students despite an ever-changing landscape in medicine. This article explores the utility of projects in problem-based learning--"project-PBL"--as a way to supplement traditional case-PBL. First, project-PBL may enhance student engagement and motivation by allowing them…

This paper proposes a historical analysis of the development of teaching roles at Aalborg University Centre in its first 10 years. The research highlights three processes through which the interpretation of the new "supervisor" roles was constructed within the problem-oriented, project-based educational model of AUC. First, the authors…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has proven to be highly effective for educating students in an active and self-motivated manner in various disciplines. Student projects carried out following PBL principles are very dynamic and carry a high level of uncertainty, both conditions under which agile project management approaches are assumed to be highly…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one among several approaches to active learning. Being a teacher in a PBL environment can, however, be a challenge because of the need to support students' learning within a broad "landscape of learning". In this article we will analyse the landscape of learning by use of the study activity model (SAM)…

The article introduces a new term in higher education: learner-led approaches in education (LED). This does not represent a single approach or dogma to replace existing dogmas, but a way of approaching learning and education that mirrors the complexity of society as it develops. LED is based on the assumption that all students have their own…