This is not surprising since most engineering students appear to be very structured thinkers focused on facts and procedures. The Western Kentucky University model of project-based learning is similar to the Kolb model in that four unique Roles of the Student are recognized and the educational experience moves through these roles. Students will cycle through these four roles, finally becoming dominant in the last role at the end of the college educational experience. The roles align fairly closely with the normal four college years, but great variation will occur in a given group of students. The first role is The Student as Learner .
Students often arrive at college unprepared for the challenges of higher education.
Leaving home is often a major life change, and new habits of study and development must be established. Our challenge as an engineering program is to assist these students with this transition while providing a sense of identity as engineering students. Social and professional events are of equal importance to these young students. They need activities that help build a sense of community that will become important later as the course loads become more difficult. Field trips to regional industries are well received by these students, for they have little knowledge of the industrial and professional world around them.