Challanges of Large Group Study Courses in Engineering Education

Teaching in front of large audiences (> 700 students) is a challenge to every lecturer. Because of the rising shortage of skilled workers particularly in engineering education new ways to provide high-quality education while at the same time allowing for large audiences need to be designed. An essential way to improve engineering education is seen in the “shift from teaching to learning”, i. e from teacher-centered to student-centered education. A possible strategy of student-centered learning is “project-based learning” which facilitates action-oriented and sustainable learning. Although it is a big challenge, project-based learning can also be successfully used in large group study courses. Besides a description of central challenges when dealing with large audiences the article points out the importance of didactically innovative and student-centered forms of teaching and learning for engineering education. Furthermore, the article sketches project-based learning as a form of student-centered learning and gives a case study of the course “Communication and Organizational Development” at RWTH Aachen University.