Using a Problem-Based Learning Approach to Incorporate Safety Engineering into Fundamental Subjects

Safety is considered as an important area of engineering education, but it is often not addressed adequately in an engineering curriculum. Contents of safety engineering were incorporated in an introductory statistics course through the problem-based learning (PBL) approach. Novices were learning statistical contents via PBL problems from the field of safety engineering. They were divided in two groups according to the partial assessment option they chose: a group with classical assessment and a group with assessment of an independent PBL engineering problem that was designed in accordance with a campaign coordinated by a leading safety agency. In the problem, students analyzed the quality of installation of fire extinguishers in more than 200 buildings, as well as their maintenance. The aim of this study is to find out if the assessment of such a problem can be used to assess students' holistic statistical knowledge, if students can get new insights in the field of safety engineering, and if such assessment suits the assessment criteria for accrediting engineering programs specified by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET criteria). Students' questionnaires also gave information on the students' perception of the difficulty of the PBL approach in both assessment options.