Project-based Learning Experience Research Articles

APPLYING PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN AN UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM AT APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY

INTRODUCTION Project based learning (PBL) fully engages students in the subject area, promotes teamwork, transdisciplinary collaboration, allows student teams to engage and solve community design problems and can ultimately lead to broader student worldviews. PBL, however, presents significant curricular challenges, including project definition and meaningful student assessment. The authors began the process of exploring PBL through a National Science Foundation Transformation Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) award. The program was piloted for two semesters under the TUES award and has now completed its eighth semester overall operating as a special curricular track in parallel with an existing, traditional curricular program in Building Science. With four years of dedicated PBL program experience to inform their efforts, the authors are currently reworking the existing Building Science program curriculum to fully integrate a PBL capstone during the senior year while establishing a clear curricular path, creating a sound base of projects, and maintaining resource limits that include, but are not limited to, facilities, materials and personnel. In this paper, the authors discuss their successes and difficulties with implementing PBL in an undergraduate design and construction program by reviewing twelve years of both spontaneous and planned project based PBL experiences in an undergraduate design and construction program.

Technology-Enhanced Project-Based Learning: A Platform for Graduate Student Research and Outreach on Campus and in the Community

Linguists are well positioned to carry out community engagement work, not only as individual scholars but also through our teaching, in ways that can be particularly appealing to and beneficial for underrepresented students. I describe my work in the interdisciplinary PhD program in Language, Literacy & Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where the graduate population consists of substantial numbers of underrepresented and nontraditional graduate students. Many of our students work in the K-12 arena, on local college and community college campuses, in government organizations, and in nonprofits; as a result, they are often eager to engage in academic work that promotes social justice and seeks to address the social inequalities they confront in their personal and professional lives. To that end, I discuss how my doctoral sociolinguistics seminar, “Language in Diverse Schools and Communities” (LiDSC), is designed as a launch pad for graduate students to carry out projects that raise awareness of linguistic issues among the broader public, in general and in higher education, that also engage students in direct academic research. Students in LiDSC, structured to follow the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL), are guided to engage in active, inquiry-based learning that often results in tangible, applied products. In two iterations of the course, my students and I produced four podcasts based on original research about language variation and a short film that highlighted linguistic diversity on campus. Through these projects, students learned firsthand the processes of sociolinguistic data collection, from research design and ethical considerations to selecting appropriate methods and communicating findings to broader audiences. In addition, by integrating the use of technology into the PBL experience, students produced shareable products that appeal to the public and thereby serve as an effective means for raising awareness of language variation, both inside and outside of academia.

On the perceptions of students and professors in the implementation of an inter-university engineering PBL experience

ABSTRACTThe new educational paradigm has led to a change in the teaching methodologies toward those more focused on the student, among these, project-based learning (PBL) is postulated as one of the most promising. This work is focused on the description of the experience of using PBL methodology in Materials Science courses, conducted by four different Spanish universities on different engineering degrees. The other main objective is to analyse and evaluate how the PBL was perceived by the students and the lecturers that took part in the PBL process. This investigation was an embedded, sequential mixed-methods study, which began by administering a survey to one hundred and four students and then a focus group with six students and six lecturers in four different engineering degrees of four Universities. Results generally show a good degree of acceptance of this approach by all parties involved.

Concepciones de alumnado de secundaria sobre energía. Una experiencia de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos con globos aerostáticos

En esta investigación se describe la aplicación de una actividad de aprendizaje basado en proyectos en torno al concepto de energía en la que los alumnos estudian los cambios energéticos con el objeto de construir un globo aerostático. Se han analizado los aportes del alumnado antes y después de la actividad y se encuentra que los alumnos progresan de manera distinta en su capacidad para describir y usar modelos de energía para interpretar fenómenos.

The importance of peer assessment & self-assessment in PBL applied to an administration course

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an active learning method that puts students in the centre of the learning process, having the teacher perform a facilitating role. This new position of the teacher is not less important because it demands a lot of changes that must be promoted by the teachers, particularly, related to the coordination and organisation of the learning project. An important task in this organisation is the one that has connection with the assessment method and how this should promote students’ behaviour that support their learning motivation. This was the concern in a Business Administration undergraduate program of a private institution in Campos dos Goytacazes city, Brazil. This method required substantial changes in the teaching and learning methods, as well as in the research’s assessment approach. This paper presents an overview of the PBL concepts and the adopted assessment method for this particular course. Furthermore, it discusses the outcomes from the new assessment method. This was an innovative experience that confirmed the positive results from the students' PBL experience and the peer assessment relevance in this learning method.

The Motivational Changes Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers Endure while Facilitating Quality Supervised Agricultural Experiences: A Six-Week Project-Based Learning Experience

The Planning the Community Program in Agricultural Education course exists to provide preservice teachers in agricultural education with knowledge about FFA and supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs). As such, pre-service teachers embarked on a six-week project-based learning experience in Spring 2016 in which they raised a pen of broilers from a one-day old chick to harvest ready (42 days). The broilers were used as the context to learn about managing data for entrepreneurial SAEs. This case study examined pre-service teachers’ motivation regarding their self-reported beliefs and perspectives for participating in the project. Three themes emerged: (a) initial self-ambition, (b) achievement stagnation, and (c) stabilized self-concept. Students began the project with high motivation and excitement. However, toward the midway point of the project, students’ motivation waned, due to monotony and challenges. Finally, during the last two weeks, pre-service teachers’ motivation stabilized, as their self-concepts and reflection abilities matured. The study holds important implications for how teacher educators in agricultural education should design and deliver future project-based learning experiences regarding students’ motivational processes. Specifically, this study indicates that, although student motivation may fluctuate at various stages, it is developed and sustained in a successive manner over time.

COMM151: A PROJECT-BASED COURSE TO ENHANCE ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Engineering is a discipline that requires its practitioners to learn and use a variety of soft-skills, which include academic and non-academic written and spoken communication, inter- and intrapersonal communication skills, critical thinking ability, an ability to work in teams and an ability to analyze, interpret and synthesize interdisciplinary information from a variety of sources. However, students who pursue their engineering education in English as their second language can face formidable challenges acquiring these skills. It is our observation that such students are often only given assistance through English courses designed to improve their individual linguistic abilities. We believe that although this approach may help in the short term, it may not sufficiently cater for students’ overall needs and well-being in the long term. With this in mind, this paper describes our attempt to reduce this problem in our local context of the Petroleum Institute (PI) through a long term innovation effort.A project-based approach has been adopted to provide students with an opportunity to enhance their language skills through meaningful learning experiences that also develop professional, personal and academic skills. This approach has also allowed the university to meet ABET criteria related to communication needs of engineering students. In this paper, we give a detailed rationale for our belief that a holistic approach to developing abilities required by engineering and other students is a better option. This is followed by a description of the different components of our current curriculum that has been developed over 12 years. We describe particular activities, and discuss their merits. We also present students’ perceptions about the impact of their project-based learning experience on their language and skills development. We also outline the way the course is designed to be adaptable for unpredictable future needs in a fast developing professional and academic environment.

Building Better Together: Engineering Design with Occupational Therapists and End Users

Abstract - This paper presents Building Better Together (BBT), an interdisciplinary project-based teaching and learning experience that facilitated a collaboration between the engineering and occupational therapy programs within Queen’s, a Canadian University. We share the inter-professional and discipline-specific learning objectives, resources utilized, weekly course format, and outcomes of this experience. This project integrated different frameworks to develop competencies for students from both programs which included: an engineering design process, a clinical process framework used by occupational therapists, and an inter-professional framework. Feedback from students who participated in BBT is provided.

Teaching Physics for Engineers using an Active Learning approach

Abstract – The teaching technique of project-based learning (PBL) has been part of the academic curriculum for sophomore Engineering students of Maua Institute of Technology since 2014. 
 Such an approach, which required substantial changes in the teaching and learning methods, had a significant impact on students’ learning and motivation. Every year a new PBL project is proposed.As part of the evaluation process, reflecting on the past experiences and merits of the PBL experiences is very important.
 After presenting the overview of PBL in the context of teaching Physics, we discuss in this paper the merits of this approach by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative survey results of the last three PBL editions.

Summative assessment of general education secondary school pupils’ performance outcomes of their foreign language project-based learning

In recent Ukrainian state documents on general secondary school educational policy, there was stated the shift from traditional learning technologies to developmental, pupil-centered educational technologies that raise the responsibility of pupils for their learning outcomes. Thus, in the draft state standard of primary general education (2017), project-based learning (PBL) is determined as one of the key educational strategies which build pupils’ cross-cutting skills. PBL involves the use of creative, problem-based, research, group, interactive, presentational, reflective, and other teaching methods, and hence, can provide the formation and development of pupils’ 21st century skills. Unfortunately, the practical experience of PBL in Ukrainian general secondary and higher education institutions today demonstrates limitations of the traditional grading system of pupils’ and students’ performance. In view of this, there is a high necessity to create and implement a new assessment framework that would allow pupils to become really active participants not only in the process of foreign language PBL, but also in evaluating their performance outcomes. It should be a system of assessment that would really involve pupils in evaluation activities, form their self and peer assessment skills. Teachers, in their turn, should pay more attention, first of all, to the process of forming learners’ foreign language personalities which cannot be merely graded. Thе aim of this article is to substantiate the methodological relevance of PBL to the present requirements of the Ukrainian educational system to implement a pupil-centered education at secondary schools. Also, another purpose of this work is to give an overall description of summative assessment of pupils’ performance outcomes of their foreign language PBL. To achieve the purposes stated, there were used such theoretical research methods as scrutiny, analysis, selection, comparison of certain aspects, features, characteristics, and phenomena of the issue under consideration, induction and deduction, generalization, systematization, etc. Thus, the issue of summative assessment of pupils’ foreign language PBL outcomes was considered in this article. The functions, forms, subjects, objects, criteria, instruments, and tools of summative assessment of pupils’ performance outcomes of their foreign language PBL were outlined. Several examples of the assessment instruments to evaluate different PBL assessment objects were given. The prospects of further research studies are concerned with implementing foreign language PBL in Ukrainian general education secondary schools, publishing foreign language PBL course books for pupils, and creating an appropriate PBL performance assessment framework. In this regard, mastering foreign language PBL by Ukrainian teachers and methodological training of tertiary students majoring in foreign language teaching to apply PBL at general education secondary schools, seem to be the mounting questions nowadays.

Out of alignment? A critical reflection on the student-teacher relationship in project-based paramedicine education.

<p>This article draws on our experiences in project-based learning and in particular our experiences in facilitating a group of paramedicine students tasked with the responsibility of evaluating clinical simulation debriefing sessions.</p><p>Using critical reflection as the research methodology, we unearthed and reworked our experiences in this project, especially the experiences of one of us, Sandy, who took on role of project facilitator. The article identifies the importance of alignment between student and teacher in project-based learning and a set of principles are offered to guide and support this in project-based teaching. These principles include open communication and respect, the suspension of conventional belief, and reflection on professional practice.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p>

The hard work of soft skills: augmenting the project-based learning experience with interdisciplinary teamwork

This two-year qualitative study explored the learning process alongside students’ perceived outcomes within an interdisciplinary project-based learning (PjBL) task. Students from three different undergraduate courses were assigned a project that spanned across all three classes and placed student teams in the roles of client and contractor. Content analysis of reflective journals and focus groups provided a rich view of the learning experience from the student perspective. Findings from Year 1 demonstrated ways in which students had employed soft skills (e.g., communication, collaboration), but also revealed the need for changes to the course design to fully realize the interdisciplinary vision of the project. Findings from Year 2 showed how students negotiated the realistic tensions of the client-contractor relationship while working to develop both soft skills and hard skills (e.g., programming, design, market research). Overall, this study reveals how the interdisciplinary nature of this project supported important aspects of student learning that might not have occurred through a more traditional class project. In addition, it sheds light on the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration among instructors when designing a PjBL experience that pushes students to crosses disciplinary boundaries.

Motivation of Engineering Students Participating in Multinational Design Projects – Comparison Based on Gender and Class Status

There have been different active-learning initiatives introduced in academia to provide engineering students with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to be competitive in the global market. These initiatives have been in response to the need in the corporate world for engineers with exposure to global collaborative environments. Consequently, multinational collaborative design projects have been used by the authors as means of introducing professional global skills to engineering students while exposing them to a project-based learning experience. This educational activity is expected to motivate students so that they can start developing the professional skills that will help them to overcome difficulties and to carry out the project successfully. However, this activity faces many challenges including, among others, cultural and academic background differences, language and time zone barriers, and issues with communication tools. Therefore, this work compares the motivation of students before and after their participation in a multinational design project, using gender and class standing as differentiating parameters. To accomplish this objective, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) was adapted to the implemented multinational collaborative experience and administered to the participating students. For this study, three motivation constructs are taken into consideration: (a) interest/enjoyment, (b) perception of choice, and (c) perceived competence. Results are discussed based on the research questions posed for this comparative work, and result reflections are presented.

Teaching Sustainability Using an Active Learning Constructivist Approach: Discipline-Specific Case Studies in Higher Education

In this paper we present our rationale for using an active learning constructivist approach to teach sustainability-related topics in a higher education. To push the boundaries of ecological literacy, we also develop a theoretical model for sustainability knowledge co-creation. Drawing on the experiences of faculty at a major Southeastern University in the United States, we present case studies in architecture, engineering, geography, and marketing. Four Sustainability Faculty Fellows describe their discipline-specific case studies, all of which are project-based learning experiences, and include details regarding teaching and assessment. Easily replicated in other educational contexts, these case studies contribute to the advancement of sustainability education.

EXPRESSART: A project-based language learning experience

This article aims to compare two different methodologies (implemented by a single teacher in an practitioner research approach) used in a 4th year English classroom in a public primary school in Catalonia. To do this comparison, different outcomes from students were collected and analysed to answer different questions related to Project Based Language Learning approach (PBLL) and what the author calls Course-Book Driven approach (CBD). The article examines, through the analysis of the students’ productions and of the focus group, the evidence of gains in written language and the motivation of the students depending on the approach used. The article concludes with several implications for research and practice.

Students’ and teachers’ perceptions: initial achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

ABSTRACTA unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012–2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed.

Multidisciplinary Project Based Learning Within a Collaborative Framework: A Case Study on Urban Drone Conception

Multidisciplinary project-based learning (PBL) allows multifaceted real-world problems to be resolved with solutions addressing scientific, technical, business, and social aspects. However, such a method can be very challenging in terms of project management (including planning, coordinating, and management of human, material and financial resources) and time-consuming, especially when involving several partners (academic and industrial partners).
 This paper provides firsthand experience of multidisciplinary PBL implemented in France in engineering education through a case study on urban drone conception. This research project has been proceeded within a collaborative framework in which 3 specialties (electrical energy systems, industrial computing, and mechanics and systems design) of a graduate school of engineering and a start-up company are jointly involved for the first time.
 This article discusses knowledge and skills that engineering students are expected to acquire at the end of the research project, and the methods of assessment. The designing, manufacturing, and experimental validation of the urban drone are described. The various steps in the project management, and the interactions with the students and partners (teachers and industrial partner) are particularly highlighted. 
 Qualitative and quantitative data have been collected through questionnaires, student logbooks and reports. The results demonstrate that this experience is overwhelmingly positive since it empowers and enhances student learning.

Implementing Project-Based Experiential Learning in Post-Graduate Studies in Greece: A Case Study

The present questionnaire-based study examines the outcomes of project-based learning procedures in Greek University postgraduate classes, where the project entitled “Traffic Signs” takes place. Master in Education students at Harokopio University provided relevant information by answering a set of close-ended questions specifically designed for the research. Data elaboration and statistical analysis were performed. The results of the study showed that, according to MEd students, the teachers’ role during the carrying-out of the project remains crucial, since s/he establishes the rules of communication, defines the objectives, simplifies the learning material and intervenes in a supportive way to strengthen students’ cognitive background and self-confidence, to overcome setbacks and facilitate constructive cooperation. The research also showed that as long as projects’ implementation during postgraduate studies are well-designed, attractive and demanding regarding high-ranked cognitive and socio-affective abilities, they meet satisfactorily students’ academic needs and expectations and refresh, deepen and expand the positive outcomes of the learning procedure even in scientific domains where very often University teachers tend to avoid the use of more innovative teaching methods.

Open data framework for sustainable assessment of project-based learning experiences

Purpose In a project-based learning experience, the detailed monitoring of the activities in which team members participate can be useful to evaluate their work. However, the project activity produces a large amount of data that can be hardly assessed by a single project supervisor. This poses a scalability issue if the number of users or projects size increases. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to make the assessment of online learning experiences more sustainable. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes a learning-oriented collaborative assessment method, supported by an open data framework. Also, an architecture for the extraction of different indicators to facilitate the assessment process is presented. Findings The assessment method and the open data framework were applied to a project-based course on web engineering. This experience has provided positive evidences because the grade measurement was backed up with assessment evidences and calculated with less effort. Research limitations/implications At the moment, results indicate that apparently there are no significant evidences against the sustainable evaluation practices for students’ summative evaluation. Nevertheless, when more data become available, a more statistically significant analysis could be made to determine the influence of the assessment practices in the final result of the evaluated skills. Originality/value In contrast to various existing proposals for e-assessment, the strategy focuses on assessing learning experiences in software development projects. Also, the approach is based on the reuse of information from external process supporting tools by integrating a number of metrics in a non-intrusive way.

Insiders' perspectives on project based learning: A comparison of US and Israeli approaches

High school students and teachers in two countries (US and Israel) were interviewed to ascertain their perspectives about their Project Based Learning (PBL) experiences. Perspectives were evaluated to determine to what degree PBL approaches were based on the eight essential elements of PBL and whether PBL courses contributed effectively to workplace preparedness. Differences between teachers and students and between countries were identified. Results revealed that PBL programs incorporating the eight essential elements are more effective in preparing students to enter today’s work environment. Students perceive stronger benefits from their PBL experiences than teachers perceive. Additionally, the perspectives of Israeli teachers and students were more similar to each other than the perspectives of US teachers and students.