In the typical science course learning is teacher directed. Students are presented with knowledge and concepts via textbooks and lecture and then given the opportunity to apply them. Project-based learning (PBL) creates a context and reason to learn information and concepts. In PBL learning is student directed and teacher facilitated. Students take ownership of their learning by finding, evaluating, and synthesizing information from a variety of resources and via interaction between students. In PBL, the project is central rather than peripheral to the curriculum. It not just an activity that provides examples, additional practice or applications of the course content., but rather, the vehicle through which major concepts are discovered. The PBL process requires students to do revision and reflection encouraging them to think about what and how they are learning. Projects allow students to develop important life-work skills such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking within the discipline. PBL allows teachers to incorporate 21st Century technology advances into their curriculum, not merely by layering technology onto traditional teaching methods, but rather by allowing students to use technology as a tool to assist their learning.

We have employed PBL in both Liberal Arts courses for non-science majors and upper division courses for science students. Three examples will be discussed. The first will be the production of video documentaries in a non-science major course; the second, a student generated electronic textbook in a 300-level energy course for science students; and lastly, a student designed analysis project in a chemistry major capstone laboratory course. The product in each of these examples was used to deliver knowledge to others in the class as well as members of the public providing motivation to do high-quality work. In our examples, student documentaries are publicly screened as part of a university-wide Academic Excellence Showcase, the student generated electronic textbook is available for public use on the internet and the results of the student designed analyses were communicated to the real-world clients via letters and reports.

We will discuss various technology tools employed in these projects such as the internet, wikis for collaborative writing, bookmarking management tools for sharing literature resources, photo sharing sites, and electronic literature searching tools. Also described will be assessment methods to gauge how the projects affected student learning.

Project-Based Learning as a Vehicle for Teaching Science at the University Level

FIGURE 1. Excerpt from The Project Description Wiki Page

Arlene Courtney1 and Philip Wade2 1Chemistry Department; 2Earth Science Department, Western Oregon University; courtna@wou.edu ID# ED11C-0749 2012 AGU Fall Meeting

ABSTRACT

§  Describe the use of project-based learning (PBL) in three different university level science classrooms to produce a product that delivered knowledge to others in the class and/or the public.

§  The first case study describes student created video documentaries in a non-science majors course. §  The second case study describes the creation of an electronic textbook in a 300-level course. §  The third case study describes a student designed chemical analysis project in a capstone

laboratory course for Chemistry majors.

PURPOSE OF PRESENTATION

A wiki was used for students to collaborate, organize and store their electronic textbook chapters and as a means for sharing information with their classmates and the instructors (Figure 3). Students were required to read and to provide feedback on each others’ e-book chapters and were also responsible for learning the content of each chapter. Social bookmarking was introduced and forum discussions were conducted.

Assessment: Student chapters were reviewed and assessed throughout the term by fellow students and the instructor for completeness of topic, accuracy of content, quality of presentation and progress toward the finished product (a chapter in an e-textbook). Student learning of content material was assessed using a traditional exam structure and perceptions of the instructional value of the project via an open-ended survey.

Two knowledge surveys administered pre-and post-course were used for assessment. One evaluated the skills necessary for video production while the second assessed students’ knowledge of course content. An open-ended survey was administered post-course to solicit student views on how the video project aided their learning.

Assessment Sample (25 Students) Content Question: Did you increase your science knowledge of alternative energy technology by taking this class and by working on your documentary project? Please provide evidence to support your view. Results: 88% increased knowledge; 12% were indifferent. Video Project Question: Given a choice between a traditional science “lecture/lab”-based curriculum or the documentary project-based class which would you choose and why? Results; 88% supported the PBL approach preferring the alternative video documentary project over a traditional lecture/lab class; 8% (2 students) were indifferent; 4% (1 student) preferred traditional lecture.

VIDEO COURSE ASSESSMENT

CASE STUDY TWO: STUDENT GENERATED ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOK

E-TEXTBOOK PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND ASSESSMENT

We have found the incorporation of project-based learning into the university science classroom to be an effective way to motivate students to learn science. Each project promoted in-depth acquisition of scientific knowledge, the use of critical thinking skills, allowed incorporation of a strong writing component and encouraged students to use the same types of social networking technologies in which they are so immersed outside the classroom for the learning of science. Social media can enhance social learning, and in all three of our case studies, the collaborative aspects of the projects were viewed by students as a positive feature of each course. The use of social media provides enriched feedback possibilities both from peers and instructors. In the PBL approach, learning becomes social rather than solitary, the teacher serves as a facilitator, and students take ownership of their learning experience.

CONCLUSIONS

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Project-based learning (PBL) is a learner-centered, comprehensive instructional approach that provides students with the opportunity to conduct in-depth cooperative investigations into topics of current relevancy. By constructing a personally-meaningful culminating product that can be shared with others such as a video, multimedia web document or other written/visual products, students represent what they have learned (Kafai & Resnick, 1996). Since students have more autonomy over their learning experience, they tend to maintain a higher level of motivation and take more responsibility for their learning (Wolk, 1994; Worthy, 2000). PBL strives for “considerable individualization of curriculum, instruction and assessment – in other words, the project is learner-centered” (Moursund, 1998). PBL and artifact construction allow for diversity in learners in terms of interests, abilities and learning styles. Classroom projects invite collaboration. Making ideas visible and sharable leads to a give and take among students which encourages critical thinking. There are many digital tools available that can encourage students to learn together. The emphasis on cooperative learning in project-based instruction differentiates PBL from instruction employing inquiry-based activities.

Course Setting: CH 361 Energy & Resources in Perspective is an upper division chemistry course for science and environmental studies students. As a class project, student teams selected a major energy resource to study and created an electronic textbook chapter for that resource inside a class wiki (Figure 3). Each multimedia chapter included text; visual media such as animations, illustrations, photos, video; audio files and website links. All students were required to read each chapter and were responsible for learning the content of each. Questions provided by the authors of each chapter covering the chapter concepts were compiled into the course final exam. This year, teams prepared chapters on biomass, wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal resources.

Motivation: The electronic textbook project encourages students to take ownership of their science learning. Production of a quality product is bolstered by the knowledge that this product will be viewed not only by classmates but also by others via a shared e-textbook. Future classes will update existing chapters and add new chapters making the project a “living” textbook. This e-textbook project using a wiki framework provides opportunities for timely feedback from the instructor and requires students to reflect on both their own and fellow students’ learning.

CASE STUDY THREE: STUDENT-DESIGNED ANALYSIS PROJECTS

Course Setting: The energy and the environment themed course is the third term of a one-year science sequence for non-science majors enrolled in the Western Oregon University Honors Program. Students create a short (8-12 minute) video documentary on an energy resource topic. Students share their projects throughout the term and assist each other with research information and technology instruction during the creation of the videos. The completed videos are shared at a formal public viewing.

Motivation: The video project allows students to incorporate creative aspects into their documentaries using web tools that are familiar to them in their daily lives. The creative production process encourages the students to take ownership of their science knowledge. (O’Neill & Barton, 2010; Goldman, Pea, Barron & Denny, 2007). Additionally, the necessary components of video production (e.g. research, outline, narrative, storyboard, video edit, etc.) allow multiple opportunities for providing feedback to students during project development.

CASE STUDY ONE: STUDENT CREATED VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES

FIGURE 2. An Excerpt from a Student Wiki Work Page

FIGURE 3. A Sample Excerpt of an e-Textbook Page

Course Setting: Experimental Chemistry is a 400-level capstone laboratory experience for chemistry majors and fulfills a portion of the university writing-intensive requirement using a variety of result reporting formats including memos, press releases, letters of transmittal, research-style papers, client reports, etc. A major component of the course curriculum is a project in which teams of students are presented with a real-world chemical problem for which they design and carry out analyses to solve the problem. Group communication has been fostered via blogs, social bookmarking sites, and a wiki.

Motivation: This project encourages students to integrate the knowledge learned throughout their chemistry program, develop a strategy to solve a problem and articulate the results of their investigation in a variety of formats. Students are motivated to generate a quality product because the results will be viewed not only by classmates but also by a real client.

Each student conducts a literature survey using Chemical Abstracts online and writes a formal research-style proposal with a suggested experimental design (Figure 4). Students score and rank the merits of each proposal. Each analysis team chooses an experimental method delineated in one of the proposals. The team works with the client to collect samples, conducts the analyses, prepares reports of the results and makes remediation recommendations via instruments such as letters of transmittal and formal client reports in layman language.

Assessment: The analysis results obtained by the different teams are compared for quality control. Written products are assessed by a combination of peer and instructor scoring via scoring guides. Finally, the client provides an assessment of the documents received and a satisfaction rating.

FIGURE 4. Proposal Description Excerpt for a Water Analysis Project

ANALYSIS DESIGN PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND ASSESSMENT

VIDEO DOCUMENTARY DESCRIPTION

A wiki was utilized by students to collaborate, organize and store their project materials and as a means for sharing information with their classmates and the instructors (Figures 1 and 2). Students used the wiki for research notes, storyboards and narratives.

REFERENCES: Goldman, R., Pea, R., Barron, B., and Denny, S. (editors) (2007). Video Research In The Learning Sciences.

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: New Jersey. 603 pages. O’Neill, T. and Barton, A. (2010). Uncovering Student Ownership in Science Learning: The Making of a Student

Created Mini-Documentary. Kafai, Y. and Resnick, M (editors) (1996).Constructionism in Practice: Designing, Thinking and Learning in a Digital

World. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: New Jersey. Moursund, D. (1998). Project-based Learning in an Information-Technology Environment. Learning and Leading

with Technology, 25(8), 4. Wolk, S. (1994). Project-based Learning:Pursuits with a Purpose. Educational Leadership, 52 (3). 42-45. Worthy, J. (2000). Conducting Research on Topics of Student Interest. Reading Teacher, 54(3), 298-299.