Project Based Learning (PBL) Approach for Improving the Student Engagement in Vocational Education : An investigation on students‘ learning experiences & achievements

Abstract

Purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Project Based Learning (PBL) for improving students' engagement and academic achievement. The aim of the research was to adopt PBL at course level to improve student engagement. The objectives of this research were to design a suitable PBL model meeting the curriculum requirements, design and Implement the changes in the curriculum, and study the impact of PBL on students ‘attitudes towards learning, learning experiences, engagement and achievements. The findings of research on PBL in section 2 indicate that PBL could be an option to improve the student engagement by motivating them for deep learning. Action research methodology (AR) was chosen to meet the research objectives. The study was conducted for two subjects in Higher National Diploma in Engineering. A PBL model was designed and tested in two engineering subjects (PBL1 & PBL2). Qualitative and Quantitative methods were used for data collection. In total 70 students’ participated in the study. The findings were used to study the impact of PBL implementation and the student experiences in the program. Pre-survey confirmed that there are issues related to student engagement, lack of motivation and surface learning. Findings confirm that PBL can make a positive impact on students' attitude towards learning. The study also confirmed that the PBL approach helped in increasing level of confidence level and self-efficacy in students. As the students were motivated to adopt deep learning there was an improvement in students' performance in terms of improved grades.