Meeting Learners' Needs through Project-Based Learning

There is a significant divide between what students want and what students receive in the classroom. Students increasingly lack interest and motivation to participate and learn. Instructional practices within and across schools vary widely, creating inconsistencies. Teachers’ instructional plans may put content and curricular needs above individual student needs. For some, the lack of desire to learn causes them to leave school. However, project-based learning, a student-centered, inquiry-based activity set in a real-world context, which uses technological tools to produce real-world artifacts, may be the solution to this dilemma. Project-based learning motivates students to actively apply critical thinking skills for project planning, collaborative problem solving, and higher-order thinking. Project-based learning can motivate students because it requires students to take ownership of their projects and learning, employ real-world technological tools and skills, collaborate with peers, reflect continuously on the process and the project, and develop a solution to a complex problem. DOI: 10.4018/javet.2012100103 International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology, 3(4), 24-34, October-December 2012 25 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. to determine what and how they should learn. Nevertheless, teachers are often concerned by student attitudes and overall lack of motivation to learn and participate in class activities. Some teachers do not understand that students want and need activities that are student-driven, authentic, relevant to them, based on real-world problems, and inquiry-based (Harada, Kirio, & Yamamoto, 2008). The characteristically linear development of the curricula of the educational system in the United States may not be suitable for the needs of 21st century students (Richardson, 2006). These linear curricula could be creating boredom and interfering with students’ ability to understand the relationship between learning and skills needed for the workforce. Declining motivation to learn in school may prevent students from being prepared for life outside of school. After completing school, students enter a workplace that requires skills and abilities very different from those required of previous generations. In 1900, 95% of all jobs required only that an employee be able to follow directions (Darling-Hammond et al., 2008, p. 2). In 2008, most employees needed to have knowledge and skills specific to their job (Darling-Hammond et al., 2008, p. 2). Today, students must have the ability to research and retrieve specific kinds of information electronically. They need to be able to create new products, as well as apply a variety of knowledge to new problems and challenges (Bell, 2010). The business climate of the early 21st century entails a focus on communication, collaboration, and effective use of data (Moylan, 2008). Business leaders are discovering that in a climate marked by widespread networking, it is better to cooperate rather than compete. Global collaboration requires students to be able to communicate information thoughtfully. The transition to a more global economy, an ever-changing social climate, and technological innovations will create a need for them to be lifelong learners. Characteristics inherent in project-based learning (PBL) require learners to use these skills and may address the problems associated with students’ lack of motivation to learn (Liu, Hsieh, Cho, & Shallert, 2006), as well as prepare them for a 21st century workplace (Bell, 2010). According to Harada, Kirio, and Yamamoto (2008), “PBL inspires proactive learning. It is a model for classroom activity that shifts away from short, isolated, teacher-centered lessons and emphasizes learning activities that are longterm, interdisciplinary, student-centered, and integrated with real-world issues and practices” (p. 1). Project-based students actively construct knowledge in collaborative groups. Moreover, the roles of teacher and student interchange. The teacher becomes a facilitator, while students take a more active role in learning. The teacher’s role is to assist students in the learning process by posing open-ended questions that cause students to make their thinking visible and actively involved in the group process (Hmelo-Silver, 2004). Consequently, PBL may be an instructional method that causes students to be more motivated to learn.