Learning through project-based learning

1. Learning through
project-based learning
Marjolein Schaddelee
marje.schaddelee@op.ac.nz
NTLT Conference 2013

2. Project-based learning (PBL)
- Why?
- How?
- What do the students think?
- Outcomes and changes….

3. Why PBL?
WHY PBL?

4. Kolmos (2010):
Improvement of skills
for students
Higher completion
and retention rates

5. And if we needed convincing….
• First year is the best place to start (really?)
• Staff reflection and student evaluations
• Challenges are good for you
• And … the outcome is….
(Yam & Rossini, 2010)

6. How do we make it work?
Planning: 5 interdisciplinary projects – 1 year – 8 papers

7. What do the students think?

8. What was working well in 2012
• “being helpful & friendly it’s ideal”
• “having Friday off”
• “working in groups”
• “The feedback we get from our work is great and I can
learn a lot from it”
• “The course hours are good, it gives us time to work in
our groups out of class”
• “meeting with mentors is good”
• ”working with different businesses”

9. What were the issues in 2012
• “ …we feel we have been chucked in it”
• “Be more organised”
• “ …use Moodle as a medium…”
• “keeping groups the same”
• “The disorganisation and miss-communication between
management & lecturers”
• “we are getting a bit sick of one another”
• “understanding the questions”
• “stop treating us like guinea pigs”

10. Changes for 2013
• Better preparation
• Managing expectations
• Modelling effective team behaviours
TEAM LEARNING

11. Student perceptions 2013
the story so far….
• “Moodle”
• “Talk us through how to answer questions”
• “helpful teachers” and “extra care”
• “having a mentor”
• “use of activity where we apply what we are learning to
something”
• “less group work, more individual assignment”
• “couches, pizza”

12. What did we learn?
• Having a committed team
• Generosity of skills and contributions
• Making decisions by consensus
• ‘Interdisciplinary’ is not an easy option
• Even a self-managing team needs a coordinator
AND THE TEAM IS STILL LEARNING….

13. More work to do….
• Peer assessment?
• Improvement of skills?
• Completion and retention?
• Benefits worth the costs?

14. References
Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: Teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research &
Development, 18(1), 57-75.
Kolmos, A. (2010). Premises for changing to PBL. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning, 4(1), 1-7.
Michaelsen L.K., Knight A.B. & Fink L.D. (Eds). (2004). Team-based learning: A transformative use of
small groups in college teaching. Sterling, VA, USA: Stylus.
Smith Ducoffe, S.J., Tromley, C.L. & Tucker, M. (2006). Interdisciplinary, team-taught, undergraduate
business courses: The impact of integration. Journal of Management Education, 30(2), 276-294.
Thomas, J.W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. Retrieved from
http://www.bie.org/images/uploads/general/9d06758fd346969cb63653d00dca55c0.pdf
Yam, L.H.S. & Rossini, P. (2010). Implementing a project-based learning approach in an introductory
property course. 16th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference, Wellington, New Zealand,
January 2010.