Project-Based Learning In a Middle School: Tracing Abilities Through The Artifacts of Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore how individual differences—specifically abilities—were used in the construction of computer-mediated learning artifacts while working within a project-based learning environment. A case study design was used with five participants purposively selected from 61 eighth grade geography students at a small, private day school in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through a self-report inventory, interviews, observations, and artifacts. Results indicated that learning artifacts reflected individual differences through blends of abilities while other abilities identified by the participants went untapped or unrecognized. Second, the learning artifacts represented the learners’ knowledge in three ways: system knowledge, domain knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. However, some knowledge, such as process decision making, went undocumented. Finally, the flexibility in the project-based learning environment allowed the participants to make decisions about their abilities, resources, and plans. Recommendations and implications for teacher educators as well as inservice and preservice teachers are also presented. Proponents of individual differences acknowledge aptitudes, skills, and preferences inherent to learners. The complexity of learning is reflected in these differences: An individual must be willing or motivated to learn, he or she must be able to learn, the environment must foster learning, and the instruction must be effective for the learner (Jonassen & Grabowski, 1993). In an attempt to understand how and under what conditions individuals learn best, researchers have attempted to isolate these variables independent from one another, including cognitive styles (Renninger & Snyder, 1983; Riding, 1997; Saracho, 2003), learning styles (Burke & Dunn, 2002; Dunn & Dunn, 1979; Gregorc & Ward, 1977; Honigsfeld & Dunn, 2003), learning modalities (Dean, Yekovich, & Gray, 1988; Samples, 1992), and various individual cognitive and psychomotor abilities (Doxey & Wright, 1990; Eliot & Hauptman, 1981; Gardner, 1983; Karma, 1982; Sugrue, 1995). More recently, researchers (e.g., Rayner & Riding, 1997; Snyder, 2000) have suggested an integration of these learner differences to understand the learner as a whole. In the past decade, the emphasis on student-centered learning appears on the surface to take into account these aptitudes, skills, and preferences of learners. Project-based learning—one example of a student-centered learning pedagogy—attempts to provide the student autonomy over and responsibility