CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND PEDAGOGY article
Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
This article is part of the Research TopicSTEM: Innovation on Teaching and Learning Vol. IIView all 12 articles
Enhancing First-Year Engineering Design through Project-Based Learning and Storytelling
Provisionally accepted
- Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, United States
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This study explores how storytelling can support first-year engineering (FYE) students' learning of the engineering design process (EDP) when combined with project-based (PJBL), community-based (CBL), and team-based learning (TBL). In a FYE course, students worked in teams as fictional engineering companies, assumed professional roles, and completed projects for both fictional and real clients. Using a quasi-experimental pre–post design with surveys (N = 64 complete responses) and reflective prompts (N = 78), we examined changes in students' perceptions of engineering design. Quantitative findings showed significant gains in familiarity with EDP steps, confidence in applying the process to real-world problems, and recognition of creativity, sustainability, and teamwork as central to engineering. Items on ethics, innovation, and everyday applications showed no significant change. Qualitative analysis identified four themes: identity and authenticity, motivation and engagement, understanding of the design process, and preparedness for real-world challenges. Together, the results suggest that storytelling, when layered with PJBL, CBL, and TBL, enhances engagement and fosters professional identity development in first-year engineering students.
Keywords: First-year engineering education, Engineering design process, Storytelling, community-based learning, project-based learning, team-based learning
Received: 20 Sep 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 de Freitas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Claudio de Freitas, cfreitas@pfw.edu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.