Circular economy from scratch: A novel project-based learning method to increase motivation in metal recycling among industrial design students

Project-based learning, with its emphasis on 'learning by doing', is the dominant teaching method in industrial design. Learners are supposed to be motivated to tackle complex problems such as those in the dynamic field of sustainability. However, it is still unclear how the process of increasing motivation within projects can be systematically targeted for specific sustainability challenges and directed towards potential later pro-environmental behavior. The project-based learning method presented in this paper, framed by a normative decision-making model, aims to intrinsically motivate industrial design students to engage in the exemplary circular economy field of metal recycling and at the same time promote necessary professional competencies on the metal, alloy, product and system level. It is demonstrated which specific intervention measures can be suitable to achieve this goal and how they can be methodically employed. Preliminary quantitative evaluation results indicate that the project-based learning method can indeed strongly motivate the target group.•Connection to a normative decision-making model from social psychology for the domain of environmental protection as a conceptual framework•Consideration of intervention measures at various levels (metal, alloy, product, system)•Use of generative toolkits to translate the acquired knowledge into practical application during design tasks.