Annika Mauno
Department of Forest Products Technology
Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Finland annika.mauno@tkk.fi
Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to teaching and learning that involves students to examine authentic problems and go through an extended process of investi-gation in response to them [2, 3]. There is accumulated evidence that PBL is an effective process to build strong content understanding, raise academic achievement and encourage students’ motivation to in-depth learning [3]. However, there are some difficulties that both the students and the teachers may encounter in project-based teach-ing and learnteach-ing. Student motivation is especially important in PBL, because although it is relatively easy to “do projects”, not nearly all projects lead to real learning [3, 1]. This paper originates from my own experiences in teaching PBL courses, realising that the role of the teacher is not as clear as it is in traditional classroom teaching. The paper assesses the role of the teacher and the instructional strategies and procedures in creat-ing and encouragcreat-ing student motivation in PBL. It reflects my own experiences and pro-vides examples of what practical procedures have proved successful.
To my experience, the teacher’s role in motivating students in PBL cannot be over-estimated. While it is necessary to allow for some degree of student choice in PBL, the projects still need careful planning, managing and assessing from the teacher to ensure that the students learn the key content and create high-quality project deliverables and presentations. Equally important is that the teacher is aware of the need to embed practising academic skills such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking into the teaching. From the teacher’s point of view, the students’ different levels and reasons of motivation, objectives and engagement in the project group create a challeng-ing startchalleng-ing point. The teacher is responsible for facilitatchalleng-ing and monitorchalleng-ing the work conducted in the groups. He or she needs to ensure that the more ambitious students can reach their objectives and at the same time the less ambitious do not get rewarded for doing nothing.
The initial project setting and problem statement need to be laid out carefully in the beginning of the course. I have designed projects that are real industrial problems in a partner company and projects that are part of a larger ongoing research project in our department. In every case it is important to explain why the task at hand is important and what the connection to the curriculum and working life is.
The composition of the project groups is an important factor in enabling smooth project process. I have used background questionnaires asking the students to explain their previous studies, work experience and their own perception of their skills and strong areas of knowledge. I have then utilized the answers to divide the students into groups so that there is enough variety of knowledge and skills in one group. Since the groups that I teach
101 are relatively small (10 –20 students) and I know the students rather well, I have also
appointed the project leaders. Otherwise I have instructed the students to decide and divide the responsibilities in the group themselves.
Constructing a supportive framework for the project can facilitate the students’ work significantly. Many students do not have much previous experience of proper working in projects. On the other hand, today they are certain to be involved in projects when they enter working life after graduation. For this reason it is extremely important to include practising project skills in the teaching. I have taken quite an active role in organising the flow of the work and making the different aspects of project work visible to the students.
I stress the importance of planning and following the project schedule, advise how to arrange effective project meetings and write appropriate minutes. In addition, I attend to some of the project meetings as an observer and give the groups feedback about the meetings.
Presenting the outcome of the project in a final presentation gives the students a chance to express their ideas to the other students as well as other interested listeners. To emphasize the importance of the presentations, I have asked outside experts – research-ers from the research community or industry representatives – to listen to and to com-ment them. In addition to a discussion that I lead after each presentation, there is also a vote for the best presentation. The question still remains how the presentation should be evaluated – some students and educators argue that in order to not to put pressure on the students in a situation where many feel uncomfortable, the presenting skills should not affect the course grade.
Finally, two essential points in evaluating PBL are to make the students aware of their own learning process and their responsibility for the learning outcome of the whole project group. These issues should be made visible to the students from the very begin-ning of the project. In the final evaluation phase the students need to reflect their own and other group members’ work, compare their own input to the input of the others and assess their own role and the other group members’ roles along the process. The tools I utilize to accomplish this include detailed self and peer assessment, which form an im-portant part of the course evaluation. I also ask the students to report the time they have used in the project. Sometimes the peer assessment reveals significant differences in the students’ input, in which case different group members can get different grades from the work.
To summarize, there are two sides to make a successful PBL course. The teacher needs to carefully prepare and construct a framework as well as guidance and review practices that make effective learning outcomes possible. On the other hand, the students need to engage themselves actively into the learning process and be active in planning, conduct-ing, presenting and evaluating their own work in the depth that successful PBL requires.
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References
[1] Barron, J. S., Schwartz, D.L., Vye, N. J., Moore, A., Petrosino, A., Zech, L., Bransford, J. D. and the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. 1998. Doing with Understanding: Lessons from Research on Problem- and Project-Based Learning. The Journal of the Learning Sciences. Vol 7 (3&4).
pp. 271–311.
[2] Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajicik, J. S., Gudzial, M. and Palincsar, A. 1991. Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning. Educational Psychologist.
Vol 26 (3&4). pp. 369 – 398.
[3] Buck Institute for Education. 2010. [Internet document].Web pages of a non-profit organization that creates and disseminates products, practices and knowledge for effective project-based learning.
[accessed 23th May 2010]. Available at: http://www.bie.org/.
103 Practice paper