Project-Based Learning in Malaysian Pre-University Mechanical Engineering: A Descriptive Survey of Lecturer Facilitation and Student Participation

Project-based learning (PjBL) is widely promoted in engineering education because it connects disciplinary knowledge with authentic design activity, collaboration, technical problem solving, documentation, and reflective learning. However, implementation quality depends not only on assigning students a project, but also on how lecturers facilitate learning and how students participate in the project process. This article reports a single-site descriptive survey of PjBL implementation in the second-semester mechanical engineering design project at Kolej Matrikulasi Kejuruteraan Kedah, Malaysia. The study involved 52 mechanical engineering students from the 2022/2023 academic session who completed a 19-item Malay-language questionnaire adapted from a prior PjBL implementation framework. Descriptive analysis showed high perceived lecturer facilitation (M = 4.58) and high student participation (M = 4.68), with an overall dimension-based implementation mean of 4.63. Student participation was especially strong in information searching, report writing, workshop activity, lecturer consultation, expert engagement, and project presentation. Lecturer facilitation was also rated highly for discussion, guidance, technical support, monitoring, and assessment. The main implementation weakness was lecturer encouragement to complete projects (M = 3.44, SD = 1.62), suggesting that motivational scaffolding was less consistent than technical and procedural support. The article contributes a context-specific implementation profile of PjBL in Malaysian pre-university mechanical engineering and argues that technically strong project supervision should be complemented by systematic motivational, autonomy-supportive, and formative feedback practices. The findings should be interpreted as descriptive implementation evidence rather than causal evidence of PjBL effectiveness.

Project-Based Learning; Engineering Education; Mechanical Engineering; Matriculation Programme; Lecturer Facilitation; Student Participation; Motivational Scaffolding; Malaysia

1. Aldabbus, S. (2018). Project-based learning: Implementation and challenges. International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, 6(3), 71-79. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does (4th ed.). Open University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4), 369-398. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1991.9653139 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Chen, C. H., & Yang, Y. C. (2019). Revisiting the effects of project-based learning on students' academic achievement: A meta-analysis investigating moderators. Educational Research Review, 26, 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.11.001 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Chen, J., Kolmos, A., & Du, X. (2021). Forms of implementation and challenges of PBL in engineering education: A review of literature. European Journal of Engineering Education, 46(1), 90-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2020.1718615 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The what and why of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Fitzsimons, J., & Turner, R. (2013). Integrating project-based learning into an undergraduate programme using Web 2.0 and videoconferencing. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 5(1), 129-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/17581181311310324 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Gergen, K. J. (1995). Social construction and the educational process. In L. P. Steffe & J. Gale (Eds.), Constructivism in education (pp. 17-39). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Government of Malaysia. (n.d.). Matriculation Programme (MOE). MyGovernment. Retrieved May 27, 2026, from https://www.malaysia.gov.my/en/categories/school--education/pre-university-programme/matriculation-programme-moe [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Guo, P., Saab, N., Post, L. S., & Admiraal, W. (2020). A review of project-based learning in higher education: Student outcomes and measures. International Journal of Educational Research, 102, Article 101586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Helle, L., Tynjala, P., & Olkinuora, E. (2006). Project-based learning in post-secondary education: Theory, practice and rubber sling shots. Higher Education, 51(2), 287-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6386-5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267-277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480216659733 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Krajcik, J. S., & Blumenfeld, P. C. (2006). Project-based learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 317-333). Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Krsmanovic, M. (2021). Course redesign: Implementing project-based learning to improve students' self-efficacy. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(2), 93-106. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v21i2.28723 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Lavado-Anguera, S., Velasco-Quintana, P. J., & Terron-Lopez, M. J. (2024). Project-based learning (PBL) as an experiential pedagogical methodology in engineering education: A review of the literature. Education Sciences, 14(6), Article 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060617 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Mohd Noramdzan Mohd Yusof. (2021). Kerangka elemen pembelajaran berasaskan projek dalam kalangan pelajar kejuruteraan politeknik [Doctoral thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia]. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Nguyen, K. A., Borrego, M., Finelli, C. J., DeMonbrun, M., Crockett, C., Tharayil, S., Shekhar, P., Waters, C., & Rosenberg, R. (2021). Instructor strategies to aid implementation of active learning: A systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 8, Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00270-7 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Pereira, M. A. C., Barreto, M. A. M., & Pazeti, M. (2017). Application of project-based learning in the first year of an industrial engineering program: Lessons learned and challenges. Production, 27(spe), Article e20162238. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.223816 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. Basic Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Prince, M. J., & Felder, R. M. (2006). Inductive teaching and learning methods: Definitions, comparisons, and research bases. Journal of Engineering Education, 95(2), 123-138. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00884.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Ramirez de Dampierre, M., Gaya-Lopez, M. C., & Lara-Bercial, P. J. (2024). Evaluation of the implementation of project-based-learning in engineering programs: A review of the literature. Education Sciences, 14(10), Article 1107. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101107 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, Article 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Sukacke, V., Guerra, A. O. P. de C., Ellinger, D., Carlos, V., Petroniene, S., Gaiziuniene, L., Blanch, S., Marba-Tallada, A., & Brose, A. (2022). Towards active evidence-based learning in engineering education: A systematic literature review of PBL, PjBL, and CBL. Sustainability, 14(21), Article 13955. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113955 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., Chambwe, N., Cintron, D. L., Cooper, J. D., Dunster, G., Grummer, J. A., Hennessey, K., Hsiao, J., Iranon, N., Jones, L., Jordt, H., Keller, M., Lacey, M. E., Littlefield, C. E., ... Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6476-6483. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Wang, Y., Wang, H., Wang, S., Wind, S. A., & Gill, C. J. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of self-determination-theory-based interventions in the education context. Learning and Motivation, 87, Article 102015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102015 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• An Adaptive Joint Filtering Approach to Wireless Relay Network for Transmission Rate Maximization
• IoT-Integrated Mercury Substance Detection System for Cosmetic Product Safety
• Design and Implementation of Solar PV-Based Railway Microgrid for Linke Hofmann Busch Coaches
• Cost Control Techniques on Civil Engineering Projects in Oyo State, Nigeria
• Strength and Predictive Modeling of Corn Cob Ash Blended Concrete Using Multi-Output Artificial Neural Network Approach