Using Sports Coaching Techniques to Enhance Project Based Learning Instruction

As instructors attempt to apply project based learning as a preferred pedagogy for many aspects of engineering education, countless questions are raised. For instance, how do instructors assess individual performance in a team based environment? How do instructors prepare students for the culminating presentation or report? How do instructors develop the students individually? After reviewing literature on both project based learning and exceptional coaching, we have found that much can be learned from John Wooden, Phil Jackson and other coaches. This paper will organize some of the best practices in sports coaching and draw parallels that will enhance student learning in project based instruction. The paper discusses the parallels between the instructor and the coach and highlights three broad categories of techniques: 1) Practice and games, 2) Teamwork and individual performance, and 3) Individual feedback for improvement. Some of these techniques have been used to successfully enhance learning in a senior design course in Industrial Engineering at Cal Poly. The insights in this article will open up a rich area of information to enhance project based learning in the future.