Problem-Based Learning and Engineering Education for Sustainability: Where We Are and Where Could We Go?

Overview & Synopsis

Education for sustainability demands transformative knowledge, which can be obtained through problem-based, project-organized learning (PBL). However, the integration of PBL and sustainability in higher education has not yet met the needs required due to the lack of application of a systemic perspective and strategy. In this literature review, we present an overview of research trends being developed with PBL in education for sustainability and how PBL is being used to educate students for sustainability. The scientific production of the last 22 years is analyzed, and we verify that the use of PBL as a methodology for education in sustainability is a rather recent innovation, with an emphasis on the environmental dimension. Learning assessment methodologies are based on summative approaches using traditional methods like scoring tests. There is an explicit preference to integrate PBL and sustainability in undergraduate and graduate courses, mainly in engineering. We observe that most of the time, the subject of interdisciplinarity is not discussed. We concluded that there are a few concerns with research on education for sustainability using PBL. Although PBL proposes an innovative form of education, its implementation in education for sustainability has not been fully explored to its full potential, especially concerning the development of sustainability skills, transformative and holistic education, but rather as a form of content-based assessment.