The Learning Factory: Self-directed Project-Based Education

Self-directed learning, project-based learning, and mentorship are the components which construct the pedagogy invoked in McMaster University’s SEPT Learning Factory. This approach to learning provides students with the opportunity to investigate new concepts through self-led inquiry by working towards engaging real-world project goals. This process facilitates a higher level of student engagement, material retention, as well as a multitude of other benefits to the student’s learning experience. This paper aims to explore the benefits of self-directed learning, project-based learning, as well as the incorporation of guided mentorship into the student-led project development process. The outcomes indicated by research into the individual benefits of each of these components provide an insight into the effect of this learning process as a whole. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence is provided to discuss the benefits of the confluence of these methods, presented in one pedagogy. These findings suggest a possible value to implementing a self-directed, project-based learning system with mentorship within a higher education environment in order to support student learning.