PROJECT-BASED LEARNING THROUGH ELECTRIC DRAG GEAR RATIO  EXPERIMENTS RELEVANT TO MACHINE ELEMENTS COURSE

Gita Sirril Qolbi; Marsono Marsono

doi:10.17509/jmee.v13i2.97765

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING THROUGH ELECTRIC DRAG GEAR RATIO EXPERIMENTS RELEVANT TO MACHINE ELEMENTS COURSE

Gita Sirril Qolbi, Marsono Marsono

Abstract

This study examines the implementation of the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model through gear ratio experiments on electric drag vehicles as a context for developing machine elements competency, particularly in the power transmission aspect. The novelty of this research lies in the use of competition-based projects as an authentic PjBL environment in which gear ratio selection directly reflects the learning outcomes of the Machine Elements course, especially transmission ratio analysis and mechanical efficiency. The research design uses an exploratory case study with total sampling of seven students who are members of the Research Electric Vehicle Team at Universitas Negeri Malang. Data were collected through performance testing of three gear ratio configurations (44/15, 41/16, and 39/16) on a 201-meter drag track, supplemented by a validated reflection questionnaire (12 items, 4-point Likert scale, Cronbach's α = 0.84). Quantitative performance data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (F = 47.82, p < 0.01), confirming significant differences among the gear ratio configurations. The 41/16 gear ratio produced the fastest average elapsed time (9.55 seconds, SD = 0.050) with the highest consistency, achieving a terminal velocity of 107.29 km/h at a distance of 201 meters. Demonstrated strong perceived competence in technical analysis, problem-solving, teamwork, and data-driven decision-making. These findings imply that authentic competition-based PjBL projects can serve as an effective contextual learning strategy in mechanical engineering education, particularly in bridging theoretical machine elements concepts with real engineering practice.

Keywords

Electric Vehicles; Engineering Competencies; Gear Ratios; Mechanical Engineering Education; Project-Based Learning.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/jmee.v13i2.97765