Abstract:

The main idea of this article is to share the authors experience in preliminary implementation of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in one of the Malaysian technical education institutions. Since, PBL has always been said as an effective learning method in promoting students’ competency; an initiative has been taken to implement PBL in one of the electrical engineering subject in technical education program. A total of 18 first semester students were divided into four heterogeneous groups. They were required to solve a PBL problem that aimed for two topics of learning outcomes regarding the electrical circuit analysis. An observation of the two weeks of PBL preliminary implementation reveals that several processes in PBL require a careful consideration particularly during the facilitation process. Students passively discuss in the group and tend to work on the problem individually. However, the survey indicated that students are highly motivated to learn within PBL environment. The conclusion remark follows with some suggestion for future PBL implementation in Malaysian technical education context.

Keywords:

Problem based learning, technical education, electrical engineering.