| ABSTRACT |
The Interactive Project Scheduling & Optimization Learning Kit is an interactive hands-on learning kit designed to
enhance the teaching and learning of project scheduling and optimization in engineering and project management
education. Conventional teaching of scheduling techniques is often calculation-oriented, making it difficult for
students to visualize activity dependencies, critical paths, resource constraints, and the consequences of different
schedule optimization strategies. The kit integrates a reusable learning board, movable activity and resource cards,
challenge-based scenarios, resource tokens, worksheets, and a digital verification dashboard. Students construct
project networks, analyze CPM and PERT schedules, determine critical paths and float, and respond to realistic
project constraints through crashing, fast tracking, resource optimization, resource levelling, and resource
smoothing. The digital dashboard provides immediate feedback by comparing project duration, cost, resource
utilization, and scheduling decisions before and after optimization. Unlike conventional worksheet-based learning,
the kit enables students to physically manipulate project schedules, observe the effects of their decisions, compare
alternative strategies, and justify their proposed solutions. The progressive challenge-based approach transforms
abstract scheduling concepts into an experiential problem-solving activity while promoting analytical thinking,
decision-making, teamwork, and deeper understanding of project trade-offs. The kit is reusable, scalable to
different levels of difficulty, and suitable for engineering, technology, construction, manufacturing, and project
management education. By integrating physical interaction, project simulation, optimization challenges, and
immediate digital feedback within a single learning system, the kit bridges the gap between theoretical scheduling
calculations and real-world project decision-making.
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