The Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning and Mining Equipment Design with Recycled Materials on the Quality, Creativity, and Usability of Mining Students’ Handmade Projects

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of project-based learning and mining equipment design using recycled materials on the quality, creativity, and usability of mining students’ handmade projects. The main problem was that previous years’ projects were limited to simple display models with little connection to real mining equipment and industry needs. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest–posttest design without a control group. The study population consisted of ۲۷ eleventh- and twelfth-grade mining students at Shahid Fattah Ahari Vocational High School, organized into ۹ three-member groups. Data were collected through direct observation, semi-structured interviews, a researcher-made questionnaire (administered before and after the intervention), review of previous years’ projects, and analysis of educational documents. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha (۰.۸۴). Pretest findings showed that the mean scores of creativity (۲.۶), practical skills (۲.۴), problem-solving skills (۲.۵), self-confidence (۲.۷), and familiarity with real mining equipment (۲.۱) were not at a desirable level, and ۸۱% of students had no experience in designing or building real mining equipment. After analyzing the data using the ۵ Whys, SWOT, and fishbone methods, solutions including project-based learning, forming specialized groups, holding brainstorming sessions, designing and building mining equipment with recycled materials, projects based on real industry needs, a reward system, and continuous monitoring were implemented. Posttest results showed the highest growth in familiarity with real mining equipment (۱۰۵%), practical skills (۹۲%), problem-solving skills (۷۶%), creativity (۷۳%), and self-confidence (۶۷%). Also, ۹ practical projects were designed and built, three of which won first, second, and third places at the provincial festival of students’ handmade projects. The findings indicate that project-based learning combined with the use of recycled materials can effectively enhance technical skills, creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, and career readiness of mining students.