Construction and Practice of Outcomes-Based Education-Guided Project-Driven Teaching Model for Engineering Economics in Application-Oriented Undergraduate Universities

Abstract

Engineering Economics is a core course for the Engineering Cost major in application-oriented undergraduate universities, yet traditional teaching often suffers from a theory-practice gap, low student participation, and polarized academic performance. Guided by Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), this study developed a three-in-one project-driven teaching model integrating modular theory, whole-process project practice, and diversified assessment. Theoretical content was reorganized into four application modules within a closed-loop ``lecture-practice-assessment'' process. A real local project---the renovation of an unfinished building into affordable rental housing in Zhaoqing City---served as the practical carrier, incorporating differentiated parameters, rotating group roles, and full-process Excel modeling. Formative assessment accounted for 40% of the total grade. The model was implemented over three semesters with 134 Engineering Cost students from the 2022--2024 cohorts at Guangdong Technology College. After the reform, the average course score increased from 70.38 to 85.65, the good and excellent rate from 31.4% to 83.9%, and the failure rate decreased from 25.5% to 3.2%. Moreover, 87.5% of students could construct dynamically linked financial models, while the classroom head-up rate in the reform class exceeded 85%, compared with approximately 50%--60% in the concurrent control class. The results demonstrate that the model effectively enhances learning outcomes and practical engineering economic analysis skills, providing a replicable approach for similar courses in application-oriented undergraduate universities, although further multi-institutional validation is needed.