Education Commons^™

Variations In Project-Based Course Design, Eun Hye Son, Tara Penry

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Project-based learning (PjBL) is seeing increasing scholarly interest and pedagogical use in higher education, but instances of PjBL do not necessarily seek the same educational outcomes. Using the grounded theory method, the authors plot five courses in a PjBL program on a matrix of course design characteristics ranging from Fixed to Flexible and Individualistic to Cooperative. They describe four major variations of PjBL based on this matrix. Recognizing that PjBL courses vary in their use of student choice and student collaboration, the authors make recommendations for assessment researchers and for teachers wishing to develop new strategies that fit their institutional …

Peer Feedback To Facilitate Project-Based Learning In An Online Environment, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

There has been limited research examining the pedagogical benefits of peer feedback for facilitating project-based learning in an online environment. Using a mixed method approach, this paper examines graduate students’ participation and perceptions of peer feedback activity that supports project-based learning in an online instructional design course. Our findings indicate that peer feedback can be implemented in an online learning environment to effectively support project-based learning. Students actively participated in the peer feedback activity and responded positively about how the peer feedback activity facilitated their project-based learning experiences. The results of content analysis exploring the peer feedback reveal that learners …

Community Narratives: Initiating An Arts Integrated Curriculum In Public Education, Amber R. Powers

Art Graduate Theses and Projects

Teachers have power to implement a constructive learning environment through team teaching and aligned instruction where schools can benefit from stronger bonds between students and teachers while providing a learning environment responsive to both academic and social needs. Thus, utilizing a mixed model of art education and standard core curricula can provide students with effective creative-thinking processes to support instruction, and empower students.

This project proposes a model of integrated arts curriculum into public education at the high school level. Arts integration can produce more learning possibilities while informing a community of solutions to larger problems through project-based curriculum design, …

Online Collaborative Learning In A Project-Based Learning Environment In Taiwan: A Case Study On Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives, Ke Zhang, Shiang Wuu Peng, Jui-Long Hung

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This case study investigated undergraduate students’ first experience in online collaborative learning in a project-based learning (PBL) environment in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews of 48 students, instructor’s field notes, researchers' online observations, students’ online discourse and group artifacts. The findings revealed interesting phenomena as results of cultural influences as well as educational system impacts. Students experienced first handed various learning benefits of PBL in the intensive six-week period, yet voiced serious concerns about the changed role of the instructor, as well as strong reservations on peer collaboration as a result of the competitive tradition in education. Obviously, online …