Effects of Students’ Academic Self-Regulation, Collective Efficacy and Scaffolding on Learning Engagement and Achievement in Project-Based Learning

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of students’ self-regulation, collective efficacy and a teacher’s scaffolding on learning engagement and achievement in project-based learning. The students’ self-regulation of their own learning and efficacy beliefs for group work are critical to successful project-based learning. A teacher’s scaffolding for stimulating relevant knowledge and collaborative strategies may enhance learning outcomes in project-based learning. Participants were 71 undergraduate students who enrolled in an education course at a university in Korea and data from 51 of them were analyzed. They were assigned to 17 groups and worked on a team project for designing a curriculum for seven weeks. The participants’ self-regulation was measured at the beginning of the project work, and their collective efficacy, perceptions on scaffolding and learning engagement at the end of project work. As a result, multiple regression analysis indicated that the students’ collective efficacy and scaffolding predicted learning engagement while scaffolding predicted project results as learning achievement. Also, learning engagement and achievement by the types of scaffolding are different statistically. According to project results, the groups that received both conceptual and strategic scaffolds were more engaged in learning than the groups received conceptual or strategic scaffolds.