Evaluating Student and Faculty Outcomes for a Real-World Capstone Project with Sustainability Considerations

The purpose of this study was to determine how a real-world, sustainability-focused engineering capstone course affected students’ critical thinking skills, student knowledge of sustainability, and student and faculty workloads. The research also investigated the effectiveness of a classwide jigsaw team approach. A combination of qualitative and quantitative assessment tools, including surveys, journals, interviews, and timecards, was employed to investigate the research questions. Results revealed that a real-world project with a focus on sustainability positively impacted students’ critical thinking skills and led to increased knowledge of sustainability, but it also correlated with a high workload for students and faculty. Additionally, the jigsaw organization structure proved successful and yielded a positive team-building experience for the students. These results suggest open-ended problems with real project constraints can yield a uniquely beneficial learning experience without sacrificing the quality of student design or project deliverables.