Abstract: Here we will explore the aspects of project-based learning, PBL, compared to traditional lecture-based courses to see how effective PBL is at retaining short and long term knowledge on a course.
Introduction:
For as long as I can remember, the traditional school has often consisted of 45 to 90 minutes lecture on a specific topic related to the course. Later the content would be applied in the form of either an essay or a problem set. However, there are other potentially more effective methods of teaching in a classroom. An alternative method of teaching would be PBL or project-based learning. A method of teaching designed to promote critical thinking and problem-solving in an authentic learning environment; by engaging with the students with a real-world problem they are asked to theoretically solve. According to research Project-based, learning places students in a collaborative setting where they are encouraged to research their given topic in depth and talk with their peers in order to find a solution to a given problem. So students are given a problem based around the concepts they are learning in class and are then asked to solve the problem through application and reflection of the concepts recently learned in the course. A model like this is popular with teachers because it actively engages students in small group discussion and self-directed learning within an instructional framework. PBL helps students improve their long term knowledge retention and develop an understanding of themselves and their context and the ways and situations in which they can learn effectively.
An in-depth description of the PBL teaching model
The effectiveness of PBL:
Advocates of PBL claim that it improves students critical thinking, and collaborative skills. According to research, there is no significant difference in the effect it has on short term retention of content. However, long-term retention result shows a significant improvement compared to students in a lecture-based learning environment. In fact, research concludes that PBL not only improves long term knowledge retention but also performance on skill-based assessments.
PBL and the achievement gap:
Research also shows that project-based learning significantly impacts students performance from low-income areas. According to research by the Education Department at the University of Michigan, studies scores increased by 63% for low-income PBL groups then the low-income control group. Further research needs to be done as to why this happened, but I believe it is because PBL improves long-term retention of content. With PBL, students actively engage with the content they are learning instead of passively regurgitating the content they heard during the lecture. As a product of a PBL school myself PBL often requires the student to go beyond the content they learned in class to produce a successful product. To go beyond the content means that students spend more time actively engaging in the curriculum they’re learning. Then they apply the curriculum they are learning to a project in order to create an end product. When students apply the information in a distinct way to their project they are able to create authentic projects that allow them to utilize the information in a distinct way that works best for them.
Conclusion:
Low-income students often have poor performance in the standardized test. The Houston Independent School District, or HISD, had over 20 percent of student fail the state 8th grade History exam and 83 percent were approaching a passing score. By improving student long term retention of information learned in class we would be able to improve their performance in school and on a standardized test. PBL learning does not only help with improving students retention rates but also can raise achievement and close the achievement gap within high impoverished areas.
Produced by Talon Logan