Criteria for TU/e's CBL Courses
Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is a structured approach, distinguished by its unique dimensions. Each of these dimensions comes with its own set of indicators, which are elaborated in the CBL Compass. For a comprehensive understanding, consult the outline below.
If you're an educator wondering when you can officially label your course as ‘Challenge-Based Learning’, there's clarity on that front too. Every dimension should be present in some form within a CBL course, although the degree of implementation can vary. Based on existing literature and TU/e practice, three specific elements must be implemented to a large extent in each CBL course:
- The extent to which challenges are real-life and authentic: the essence of enginering (dimension: Real-life open-ended challenges)
- The extent to which learning activities create a rigorous treatment of fundamental engineering knowledge and skills (dimension: T-shaped professionals)
- The extent to which challenges stimulate the combination of deep understanding and broader view (dimension– T-shaped professionals)
Evolution of CBL Courses Throughout the Bachelor's Program
The degree to which a dimension is integrated into a course can also be influenced by the course's placement within the curriculum. For instance, a first-year CBL course may be designed in a mono-disciplinary manner with less complexity in order to help students acclimate to the concept. However, by the third year of the bachelor's program, one would expect a course to be multi-disciplinary, encouraging students to develop the broader perspective that makes CBL so valuable.
Below, you'll find an example illustrating how disciplinarity, stakeholder involvement and the openness of the challenge can evolve over the curriculum of the three-year bachelor's program.
Test Your CBL Course/Project
Curious to what extent your course/project has implemented the CBL dimensions? Click on the assessment tool below to find out! This instrument isn't about grading or ranking – it's designed to offer valuable insights to you and your teaching team. It helps identify which aspects of your CBL course are already robust and which could benefit from further refinement.