Implementing Agile Methodologies in a Project-Based Learning Laboratory
Banafsheh Seyed-Aghazadeh, Hamed Samandari · 2020
Implementing Agile Methodologies in Project-Based Learning LaboratoryIn this study, students at Engineering Dynamics, a distance-learning course offered to engineering technology students, were engaged in a design-based laboratory assignment.Teams of students from multiple campuses worked on design, manufacturing, and testing of a dynamic mechanism.Due to the cross-campus collaborative nature of this project and in the absence of little to no face-to-face interaction between team members, a key factor in success of the team was to manage team effort through an effective project management strategy.As a solution, ideas from agile way of thinking were incorporated in this design-based project.Agile rituals such as stand-up meetings, retrospectives and iterative reviews were implemented for transparent teamwork and timely feedback.The effectiveness of how this intervention helped students was assessed through multiple tools, such as online surveys and targeted design-based questions during mid-semester exams.