Product Dissection: A Method for Hands on Engineering Education

Abstract

There is a need to make Engineering education more hands on. Traditionally this was done through labs. However, a method developed for hands on engineering, understanding engineering concepts, choices and designs is Product Dissection. The history of PD is examined and its' evolution as well as the superset of PD - Experiential Learning which has also developed from the time of Confucius to Kolb. The design of a PD course is seen as done at Stanford and other North American Universities, and is adapted to an Indian University in its' inaugural year. The course design, its' comparison with existing models and relation to EL are shown. The practice of the course, challenges faced and what were the results of the evaluations done are given. Also the type of assessment needed to drive engagement and hands on work by students is illustrated. In conclusion the problems faced are summarized and their resolution discussed.