Gender and Diversity in a Problem and Project Based Learning Environment

Problem and Project Based Learning (PBL) has been used as an educational philosophy and methodology in the construction of a student centered and contextualized learning environment. PBL is also regarded as an effective method in producing engineering graduates who can not only meet the needs of professional competences but are also prepared for new challenges in the globalized and technological context. However, can PBL be a solution to the challenge of a general lack of university students studying engineering and technology in many countries? Gender and Diversity in a Problem and Project Based Learning Environment presents an ethnographical study on the learning experiences of engineering students in the PBL environment in Denmark, and it attempts to question the issue of diversity in engineering education via the exploration of which ways the PBL environment is friendly to diverse groups of learners such as women.

This chapter starts with an introduction to the choice of constructivistsociocultural
approach as the theoretical standing point in concern with understanding
learning in this study. This is followed by a brief review of literature which
examines learning from different perspectives such as experiences, situation/
context, participation, and identity development. A number of learning theories in
the constructivist-sociocultural approach are discussed and linked with a
philosophical concept ...