Project-Based Learning

Edutopia. (2014, June 26). 5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzCGNnU_WM

What Is Project-Based Learning?

Project-based learning is pedagogy in which students control the learning process (Ngereja et al., 2020) by participating in project-based assignments that require critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). PBL allows students to acquire autonomy in their learning, generating learner knowledge and volition (Ngereja et al., 2020). This student-focused learning method can target multiple, if not all, types of learner engagement.

Lentz, S. (2022). Types of Learner Engagement [Photograph]. https://xperiencify.com/learner-engagement/

Maximizing learner engagement encourages students to be actively involved and invested in their training by aligning their goals with the understanding and applying what they have learned (Lentz, 2022). Additionally, PBL allows for authentic learning, where students explore, discuss, and construct meaningful concepts in context to real-world problems relevant to the learner (Sabin, 2021). Unlike problem-based learning, learners focus on completing projects centered around the learning objectives, with the instructor participating more as a facilitator to help learners complete their tasks. In problem-based learning, students focus on solving real-world problems. Though these two methods are similar in multiple facets, such as collaboration, communication, and self-regulatory strategies, the two learning methodologies are distinctly different. Due to their differences, in more recently published reading on project-based learning, you will see the acronym PjBL (project-based learning) and PBL (problem-based learning) utilized to distinguish the two (Dole, Bloom, & Doss, 2017). Throughout this study, project-based learning is referred to with both acronyms while discussing only project-based learning.

B. I. F. E. (2019). Gold standard PBL: Seven Essential Project Design Elements [Photograph]. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl/gold-standard-project-design

Design Elements

The Buck Institute for Education provides actionable resources for meeting a "Gold Standard" in PjBL course design. The resources are licensed under creative commons, making them accessible to instructional designers and educators. The seven essential design elements are as follows:

1. Challenging Problem or Question - The project frames a problem to be solved at the appropriate level of challenge for the learner.

2. Sustained Inquiry - Learners are engaged in an extended process of posing questions, finding resources, and applying information.

3. Authenticity - The project is based on real-world context, tasks, tools, standards, or impact regarding learners’ interests and lives.

4. Student Voice & Choice - Learners make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create, and express their ideas in their voice.

5. Reflection - Learners and educators reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry, and project activities and quality.

6. Critique & Revision - Learners give, receive, and apply feedback to processes and products.

7. Public Product - Final project is public and explained beyond the classroom.

B. I. F. E. (2019). Gold standard PBL: Seven Project-Based Teaching Practices [Photograph]. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl/gold-standard-teaching-practices

Teaching Practices

In addition to essential design elements, The Buck Institute for Education also provides seven guiding principles for best teaching practices.

1. Design & Plan - Educators create and adapt a project for their context and students. This plan is launched and will allow for some degree of student voice and choice.

2. Align to Standards - The plan addresses key learning objectives and centers project facilitation around understanding the relevant subject matter.

3. Build the Culture - Educators promote student independence and growth and utilize open-ended inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.

4. Manage Activities - Educators work with learners to organize tasks, schedules, checkpoints, and deadlines. Facilitate learners' ability to find and use resources, create their products, and make them public.

5. Scaffold Student Learning - Educators employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to support learners in reaching project goals.

6. Assess Student Learning - Formative and summative assessments of knowledge, understanding, and success skills. This includes self and peer assessment of team and individual work.

7. Engage and Coach - Engage in learning and creating alongside learners. Identify when skill-building redirection, encouragement, and celebration are needed.

How PjBL Influences Motivation, Engagement, and Volition

Challenging Projects Help Assess and Bridging Knowledge Gaps

Project-based learning creates a project, problem, or question appropriate to the level of challenge for learners. Project scaffolding should center the student and the prescribed learning outcomes. An essential design element of PjBL, outlined by the Buck Institute for Education, is sustained inquiry. Sustained inquiry encourages learners to process questions actively, find resources, and apply information (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). Educators can assess performance through various indicators such as criteria, scaffolding, and student surveys; however, they are not the ultimate goal as there is a lack of agreement on how to define those processes extrinsically (Ngereja, B. et al., 2020, p.4). Thankfully, PjBL call to sustain inquiry stimulates epistemic curiosity. Epistemic curiosity is the desire to gain knowledge to explain the causes of gaps in one's understanding or why something is happening (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). The rigorous expectation to ask questions and apply resources to one's knowledge gap naturally creates this epistemic curiosity in the project-based process. I further discuss the context of peer-to-peer influence and the effect of knowledge gaps on student engagement in my comments in the post regarding 'Student-Led Engagement.'

Authenticity and One's Goals

One of the seven essential project design elements within project-based learning is authenticity. Authenticity requires the project to be based on real-world context, tasks, tools, standards, and impact on student interests and lives (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). These real-world connections should drive choices in developing the curricula (Edutopia, 2014). In PjBL, students have taken the initiative to complete extra work beyond the semester, expand the size of projects, involve their peers, and share their projects with the public (Warr & West, 2020). There is an increase in learner motivation when they have authority and real-world relevance to the projects and have a sense of autonomy over them. Perceptions of usefulness or "authenticity" are attributed to relevance but are not the only essential component (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). Due to the significant variance in student goals from concrete and specific extrinsic goals to non-specific and emotional intrinsic goals, allowing students the autonomy to guide their project-based work allows them to connect their work to relevant parts of their own identity and purpose. I speak further on the importance of identity and self-regulatory strategies in the post 'Integrating Arts into the Mainstream Classroom.'

Reflection and Belief in Mastery of Skills

Real-life impact gives learners a sense of agency and purpose (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). When pedagogy provides learners with opportunities to attribute the outcome to their ability and skills, it can increase belief in the ability to succeed with sufficient effort (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). Reflection on effectiveness and quality is an essential element within successful project-based learning (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). We can measure affective outcomes and perceived benefits of PjBL experiences through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and self-reflection journals (Guo et al., 2019, p.1). Both learners and teachers should reflect on the learning effectiveness of the inquiries, projects, quality, and obstacles within PjBL (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). PjBL requires instructors and community members to act as facilitators by providing feedback and support to their learners to assist in their self-driven learning process (Guo et al., 2019, p.2). This process can increase a learner's self-efficacy and improve their belief that implemented plans and behaviors result in completing goals (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). Further discussion on the influence of reflection on student engagement is within my comments on the post 'Being Mindful of Student Needs: The Necessity of Teaching Mindfulness in Adolescent Classrooms.'

Satisfaction with PBL Results

Rewarding teacher relationships, a sense of purpose, and building success skills are all listed as impacts on learners within project-based learning (Buck Institute for Education, 2021). We can measure cognitive and behavioral outcomes by the affective outcome results mentioned above, rubrics, tests, artifacts, and log data (Guo et al., 2019, p.1). The feedback provided should be informational and reinforce students for completing a challenging task to help connect the internal attribution of success to help learners' intrinsic satisfaction (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). Additionally, PjBL requires a quantity of student voice and choice (Buck Institute for Education, 2021), allowing students to participate actively in their learning experience (Warr & West, 2020). This relevance also allows students a sense of freedom and satisfaction with their engagement with the curriculum. Continued discussion around student satisfaction, praise, and student feedback can be found in the post 'Integrating Arts into the Mainstream Classroom.'

Volition and Skill Development

One of the challenges in higher education is to ensure students develop generic attributes and competencies for clear thinking, independent work, communication, and collaboration (Ngereja B. et al., 2020, p.2). Educational institutions focusing more on cultivating students' research skills rather than professional or transferable skills might cause a gap in students learning (Guo et al., 2019, p.1). Incorporating project-based learning in the curriculum can facilitate the hands-on experience, use of various resources, autonomous working, and personal responsibility (Ngereja et al., 2020). Each of these helps students to identify their self-regulatory strategies within learning. Volition for college students is highly important, considering all of the internal and external distractions presented in college life (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). Further discussion around building student critical thinking skills and self-regulatory is within the comments on the post 'Artful Thinking - Ways That Strengthen Student Thinking and Learning - A Case Study.'

Conclusion

Due to the specific design elements, teaching standards, and influence on student engagement, PjBL is an excellent pedological method for instructional course design. It can increase student engagement, motivation, and self-regulatory volition. The instructional design industry could benefit from more studies around student performance and measurement of quality utilizing PjBL for student learning (Guo et al., 2019, p.6). I look forward to taking this research back to my courses that utilize something similar to PjBL, comparing their current designs to the resources provided by The Buck Institute for Education to align them with the “gold standard” expectations outlined above, updating them for higher efficacy, and studying the results achieved.

References

Buck Institute For Education (2021). What is PBL? PBL Works. https://www.pblworks.org/

Dole, S., Bloom, L. , & Doss, K. K. (2017). Engaged Learning: Impact of PBL and PjBL with

Elementary and Middle-Grade Students. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based

Learning, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1685

Edutopia. (2014, June 26). 5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzCGNnU_WM

Guo, P., Saab, N., Post, L. S., & Admiraal, W. (2019). A review of project-based learning in

higher education: Student outcomes and measures. International Journal of Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101586

John Spencer. (2017, November 12). What is Problem-Based Learning? [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGoJIQYGpYk

Lentz, S. (2022). What Is Learner Engagement (+ Strategies to Boost It in 2022). Xperiencify.

https://xperiencify.com/learner-engagement/

Ngereja, B., Hussein, B., & Andersen, B. (2020). Does Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Promote Student Learning? A Performance Evaluation. Education Sciences, 10.

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and

Technology. Pearson Education, Inc.

Sabin, M. (2021). What Is Authentic Learning and How Do I Use It? Atlas.

https://www.onatlas.com/blog/what-is-authentic-learning-and-how-do-i-use-it

Utah Valley University (2022). Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning (x-BL).

Office of Teaching and Learning. https://www.uvu.edu/otl/resources/group_work/pbl.html

Warr, M., & West, R. E. (2020). Bridging Academic Disciplines with Interdisciplinary

Project-Based Learning: Challenges and Opportunities. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 14(1).