What Did I Really Learn in My Mechatronics Class? The Challenge Line Problem Revisited

Experience gained from a course in Mechatronics Engineering is used to illustrate an approach to the Challenge Line Problem, a problem that is a key pedagogical issue underlying most engineering courses. The issue is how to define and subsequently position an engineering problem between one extreme of a highly constrained, clearly defined problem, and the opposite extreme of an open ended problem with multiple, or perhaps nonexistent, solutions.

After several years of experience, it is believed that a course has been established that uses a process of active learning as it moves in stages from being highly constrained to being open ended. This progression along the Challenge Line works to provide the students with a rewarding and stimulating experience in engineering problem solving, in the context of a course that combines elements of computer, electrical and mechanical engineering.