Abstract
This work focuses on Project and Problem-based Learning as assistive educational tools for the transition of HE undergraduate motorsport engineering learners towards active and critical thinking. An Action Research Project (ARP) was developed focusing on the ‘Chassis Development and Telemetry’ module which is delivered during the second year of the undergraduate motorsport courses at the National Centre for Motorsport Engineering of the University of Bolton. This module has a strong hands-on element and therefore, it is appropriate for learners that begin to develop active learning and critical thinking skills as well as other employability (transferable) skills. The ARP included a series of hands-on portfolio exercises in the area of analysis and processing of signals acquired from racecar sensors and incorporated features aiming to simulate the professional motorsport environment within the HE framework. The quantitative analysis included, apart from basic statistical analysis, the use of the Pearson Product-moment Correlation Coefficient, the k-means algorithm and the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The observations and conclusions stemming from the analysis of the ARP regarding the incorporation of project and problem-based learning were very encouraging; they indicated that the learners’ satisfaction levels improved through the delivery of a series of exercises which involved analysis and processing of authentic signals acquired from racecar sensors. Moreover, the quantitative analysis indicated a positive correlation between the learners’ prior knowledge and their academic performance in the ARP, for one of the two groups of students.