International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)

ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428

(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
IMPACT OF PBL ON STUDENT CENTRIC
LEARNING
M. K. Praveena Kumari
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, M.G.M. College, Udupi,
Karnataka
Abstract:
Project Based Learning (PBL) refers to any programmatic or instructional
approach that utilizes multifaceted projects as a central organizing strategy for educating
students. When engaged in project-based learning, students will typically be assigned a
project or series of projects that require them to use diverse skills—such as researching,
writing, interviewing, collaborating, or public speaking—to produce various work
products, such as research papers, scientific studies, public-policy proposals, multimedia
presentations, video documentaries, art installations, or musical and theatrical
performances, for example. Unlike many tests, homework assignments, and other more
traditional forms of academic coursework, the execution and completion of a project may
take several days or weeks or months. This paper, through the reviews of research related
to teaching and learning model popularly referred to as "Project-Based Learning" (PBL)
shows how PBL develops soft skills and logical thinking of the students, how PBL makes
students ready for the next higher level either it can be academic or professional and how
PBL helps the student in overall development along with professional progress and
practical knowledge. The aim of this paper is to inspire more teachers to become student-
centered using PBL in their teaching methods. The review covers six topics: A definition of
Project-Based Learning, Characteristics of PBL, The benefits of PBL, Challenges associated
with enacting PBL, Research on improving the effectiveness of PBL and Conclusion.
Index Terms: Student Centric Learning & Project Based Learning (PBL)
Introduction:
Project-based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students
explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-
curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups. Project-based learning is
filled with active and engaged learning, it inspires students to obtain a deeper
knowledge of the subjects they're studying. Research also indicates that students are
more likely to retain the knowledge gained through this approach far more readily than
through traditional textbook centered learning. In addition, students develop
confidence and self-direction as they move through both team-based and independent
work.
In the process of completing their projects, students also hone their
organizational and research skills, develop better communication with their peers and
adults, and often work within their community while seeing the positive effect of their
work. Because students are evaluated on the basis of their projects, rather than on the
comparatively narrow rubrics defined by exams, essays, and written reports,
assessment of project-based work is often more meaningful to them. They quickly see
how academic work can connect to real-life issues and may even be inspired to pursue a
career or engage in activism that relates to the project they develop.
Students also thrive on the greater flexibility of project learning. In addition to
participating in traditional assessment, they might be evaluated on presentations to a
community audience they have assiduously prepared for, informative tours of a local
historical site based on their recently acquired expertise, or screening of a scripted film
they have painstakingly produced.

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 International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
Project learning is also an effective way to integrate technology into the curriculum. A
typical project can easily accommodate computers and the Internet, as well as
interactive whiteboards, global-positioning-system (GPS) devices, digital still cameras,
video cameras, and associated editing equipment. [2]
This paper is organized as follows. Section II briefs about Project Based Learning
and Student Centric Learning, section III details about Characteristics of PBL, section IV
briefs about The Benefits of PBL, section V briefs about Challenges associated with
enacting PBL, section VI details about Research on Improving the Effectiveness of PBL
and this paper has been concluded in section VII by making suggestions on field may
best be progressed by future efforts.
Project Based Learning:
What is Project Based Learning: Project Based learning is a systematic teaching
method that engages learners in acquiring knowledge and skills through an extended
inquiry process structured around complex, relevant questions, carefully designed
products, and authentic tasks and skills. [3]
Student Centered Learning: The term student – centered learning refers to a wide
variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches,
and academic-support strategies that are intended to address the distinct learning
needs, interests, aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students and groups
of students. To accomplish this goal, schools, teachers, guidance counsellors, and other
educational specialists may employ a wide variety of educational methods, from
modifying assignments and instructional strategies in the classroom to entirely
redesigning the ways in which students are grouped and taught in a school. [4] In the
traditional approach to college teaching, most class time is spent with the professor
lecturing and the students watching and listening. The students work individually on
assignments, and cooperation is discouraged. Student centered teaching methods shift
the focus of activity from the teacher to the learners. These methods include active
learning, in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of
their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class; cooperative learning, in
which students work in teams on problems and projects under conditions that assure
both positive interdependence and individual accountability; and inductive teaching
and learning, in which students are first presented with challenges (questions or
problems) and learn the course material in the context of addressing the challenges.
Inductive methods include inquiry-based learning, case-based instruction, project-
based learning, discovery learning, and just-in-time teaching. Student-centered methods
have repeatedly been shown to be superior to the traditional teacher-centered
approach to instruction. [5]
Essential Characteristics of PBL:
From Students Perspective:
 A project that is relevant to my own life and personally meaningful. Completing it
requires me to do tasks that really matter.
 A clearly defined assignment given by the teacher, with little or no input from me.
 An exploration into an authentic problem. My goal is to solve the problem and
present my solution—or a tangible product—to a knowledgeable and interested
audience, oftentimes from beyond my classroom.
 Writing a report or creating an end-product that only the teacher sees and for
which I receive a grade.
 Having a voice in how I investigate the problem, and input on what the final
outcome/product should be.

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 International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
 Choosing an activity or end-product from a list distributed by my teacher.
 Doing research by myself only in books or online.
 A learning strategy that encourages me to regularly evaluate my progress based
on my individual work or my participation and contribution to a group’s work.
 Completing my work and handing it in without any self-reflection or analysis.
From Teachers Perspective:
 A meaningful project that fulfils objectives within a core curriculum.
 A project that demonstrates what the student has learned AFTER classroom
learning or an activity that supplements the classroom learning.
 A strategy that begins with a driving question that engages students and motivates
them to learn the material. The driving question might be stimulated by the
teacher and/or the students.
 Assignments that assess knowledge ALREADY learned.
 A creative activity designed without specific educational value.
 A learning process that encourages students to revise their research when
necessary and to reflect on their progress throughout the project.
 A project with a hard deadline that the teacher grades and returns to the student.
 An evaluation based on a set rubric that assesses student collaboration,
participation, in addition to the content.
 A grading system with a teacher generated rubric.
Benefits of Project-Based Learning:
Project based learning offers a wide range of benefits to both students and
teachers. A growing body of academic research supports the use of project-based
learning in school to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost cooperative learning
skills, and improve academic performance (George Lucas Educational Foundation,
2001). For students, benefits of project-based learning include:
 Increased attendance, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes toward
learning (Thomas, 2000)
 Academic gains equal to or better than those generated by other models, with
students involved in projects taking greater responsibility for their own learning
than during more traditional classroom activities (Boaler, 1997; SRI, 2000 )
 Opportunities to develop complex skills, such as higher-order thinking, problem-
solving, collaborating, and communicating (SRI, 2000)
 Access to a broader range of learning opportunities in the classroom, providing a
strategy for engaging culturally diverse learners (Railsback, 2002)
For many students, the appeal of this learning style comes from the authenticity
of the experience. Students take on the role and behaviour of those working in a
particular discipline. Whether they are making a documentary video about an
environmental concern, designing a travel brochure to highlight sites of historical
significance in their community, or developing a multimedia presentation about the
pros and cons of building a shopping mall, students are engaged in real-world activities
that have significance beyond the classroom.
For teachers, additional benefits include enhanced professionalism and
collaboration among colleagues, and opportunities to build relationships with students
(Thomas, 2000). Additionally, many teachers are pleased to find a model that
accommodates diverse learners by introducing a wider range of learning opportunities
into the classroom. Teachers find that students who benefit the most from project-
based learning tend to be those for whom traditional instructional methods and
approaches are not effective (SRI, 2000)

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 International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
Challenges Associated with Enacting Project-Based Learning:
1. Coming up a Rich Problem: This is a key issue. A “rich” problem has many potential
dimensions. For example “How can we make the roads safe around here?”, has no
simple, cut and dried answers. For example, one reason that kids get knocked over by
traffic is that they step out into the road while texting or listening to music. Another
reason is that children find it hard to judge the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles.
Those are not easy problems to solve. On the other hand, a “problem” like “What’s the
climate like in New Mexico” can be solved in about two minutes, simply by looking it up.
2. Monitoring who is Doing What: I mean this in two senses. First, you need to ensure
that everyone has the opportunity to develop the same skills. Not necessarily in one
project, which would be asking a lot, but certainly over the course of the year?
Otherwise you could have a situation in which a pupil only ever does writing or design
work, and never touches data handling, for example. Think of the individual pupil
outcome as a patchwork quilt: it doesn’t work if all the squares are the same colour.
Second, if one is not careful, it is very easy to allow some pupils to get away with doing
very little. However I think one needs to be both pragmatic and perceptive.
 Pragmatic: I once had a class for two hour lessons, twice a week. If I saw a
couple of pupils taking a break to discuss last night’s soap, I took the view that as
I can’t work for two hours solid, why should I expect them to be able to? But after
a few minutes I’d catch their eye and point to the clock. That was all that was
needed.
 Perceptive: Some pupils look like they are not doing any work at all. But just
because you can’t see their brain whirring doesn’t mean that nothing is going on.
In one group I had, one boy spent virtually all group discussion time talking
about football with his friends on the next table. But every once in a while he
would lean over, and make a suggestion. The others invariably followed this new
lead, and it was also invariably a brilliant idea. So who is to say he wasn’t
working, just because he didn’t demonstrate it in the usually accepted manner?
This, of course, raises another issue arising from PBL….
3. Assessing Accurately: If 5 people are involved in a project, how do you assess each
of them on the quality of the outcome? You could decide to simply give them all the
same mark. I think that is unfair, or potentially so. I preferred to do three things in this
regard:
 Monitor who did what, and keep a written record of that;
 Have the pupils themselves log what they did at the beginning and end of each
lesson;
 Talk to pupils individually to find out if they really do know what they ought to
know if they have done the work they said they had.
4. Monitoring Progress: This is related to assessment, but is not quite the same. What I
am referring to is the fact that you need to ensure that each pupil is improving, which
entails being challenged. Hopefully, pupils are not doing the same sort of thing in every
project, but if they do end up working in the same area twice, the second time should be
a development rather than a repetition.
5. Providing Catch up Opportunities: If a pupil misses a particular type of
opportunity, how will you ensure that s/he makes up for it? This relates to the points
about monitoring: if a pupil has been involved in 4 projects, say, over the course of the
year, and has not once touched computer programming in all that time, you may have to
tell him what role he is going to take on in the next project.

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ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
6. Ensuring No Time is Wasted at the Start of The Lesson: You want the start of the
lesson to be dynamic and purposeful. The pupils want that too. What you really don’t
want is 30 kids all shouting “What do I have to do?”. The best way to ensure a proper
start of the lesson is to allocate time at the end of each lesson for planning. Pupils should
note down the following:
 What they have done during the lesson;
 What they need to get on with next lesson;
 What they need to do between now and then in order to be able to just get on
with it as soon as the doors are opened next time.
I have adopted this approach with even the most challenging of classes. It works.
7. Ensuring Quality Learning: There’s learning, and there’s quality learning. So-called
peer learning is not much good if the person you’re teamed up with has the same
misconceptions or same lack of knowledge as you do. You need to:
 Monitor what goes on in the lesson, so you can provide timely assistance when
required (see next point);
 Make sure you know who the class experts are, so you can send pupils to them as
necessary.
 Have a set of resources (books, handouts, useful websites) that you can direct
kids to when appropriate.
8) Ensuring Nobody Waits Too Long for Assistance: What do you think is an
acceptable “wait” time? Personally I believe that 5 minutes is too long. You need to have
a range of strategies that you can employ, to ensure pupils are not hanging around
waiting for you to answer a question. For example:
 A rule like “Ask three and then me”.
 Having lots of useful resources for kids to explore for assistance;
 Clear instructions on the whiteboard, or the wall;
 Over the long term, establish a classroom culture of “If I can’t get on with what I
want to do, I’ll get on with what I can do.”. There is always something useful that a
pupil can be getting on with;
 Having the ability to talk to one person while scanning the rest of the room helps
too!
9) Not Minding an Air of Organized Chaos: If a project is something the kids can really
get their teeth into, and there is senses of excitement, even urgency, then forget about
the idea of a British Library type of atmosphere. It’s going to be a bit noisy, and at any
one time kids will be walking about getting resources, talking to other pupils or printing
stuff out. If that’s something you find hard to handle, or difficult to explain to a visiting
inspector, then maybe PBL is something you should avoid. [8]
Intervention Research: Improving the Effectiveness of PBL:
An additional strand of research on Project-Based Learning involves attempts to
improve the delivery or effectiveness of Project-Based Learning by intervening in the
practice of PBL. The intervention may be designed to correct an observed weakness
associated with some PBL feature or to remediate or accommodate some student
deficiency relative to an aspect of project work. These interventions, which are designed
to support Project-Based Learning, have been referred to as scaffolding (Guzdial, 1998)
or "procedural facilitation" (Scardamalia, Bereiter, McLean, Swallow, & Woodruff,
1989).
One of the weaknesses of Project-Based Learning, as identified in research on
PBL implementation, is that there is often a poor fit between the activities that form the
day-to-day tasks of the project and the underlying subject matter concepts that gave

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 International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
rise to the project (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). Projects sometimes go off track, with
teachers and students pursuing questions that are peripheral to the subject matter of
interest. The solution, according to Blumenfeld et al. (1991) and Barron et al. (1998) is
to find ways for projects to center on "learning appropriate goals." For Blumenfeld et al.,
an appropriate strategy is to help teachers develop "driving questions," questions that
will ensure that students encounter and struggle with complex concepts and principles.
Barron et al. take the position that learning appropriate goals can be maintained by
introducing explicit design requirements within the problem or project that prompt
students to generate and pursue productive questions. [9]
Conclusions:
The research reported above includes a variety of investigations and several
important findings. Chief among the findings that might be of interest to practitioners
are on
 The effects of PBL on the quality of students',
 The challenges faced by teachers and students during PBL implementation,
 The effects of "procedural facilitation" interventions on students' skill acquisition
in PBL.
Keeping in mind that the research to date is fairly sparse in each of the paradigms that
have emerged and that this research does not reflect a common model of Project-Based
Learning, the following tentative conclusions can be offered.
Research on PBL implementation is largely limited to research on project-based
science administered by teachers with limited prior experience with PBL. From this
research, there is evidence that PBL is relatively challenging to plan and enact. Keeping
the limitations of this research in mind, it is probably fair to say that most teachers will
find aspects of PBL planning, management, or assessment fairly challenging and will
benefit from a supportive context for PBL administration.
There is some evidence that students have difficulties benefiting from self-
directed situations, especially in complex projects. Chief among these difficulties are
those associated with initiating inquiry, directing investigations, managing time, and
using technology productively. The effectiveness of PBL as an instructional method may
depend, to a greater extent than we recognize, on the incorporation of a range of
supports to help students learn how to learn.
There is direct and indirect evidence, both from students and teachers, that PBL
is a more popular method of instruction than traditional methods. Additionally,
students and teachers both believe that PBL is beneficial and effective as an
instructional method.
Some studies of PBL report unintended and seemingly beneficial consequences
associated with PBL experiences. Among these consequences are enhanced
professionalism and collaboration on the part of teachers and increased attendance,
self-reliance, and improved attitudes towards learning on the part of students.
PBL seems to be equivalent or slightly better than other models of instruction for
producing gains in general academic achievement and for developing lower-level
cognitive skills in traditional subject matter areas.
More important, there is some evidence that PBL, in comparison to other
instructional methods, has value for enhancing the quality of students' learning in
subject matter areas, leading to the tentative claim that learning higher-level cognitive
skills via PBL is associated with increased capability on the part of students for applying
those learnings in novel, problem solving contexts.

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 International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME)
ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
There is ample evidence that PBL is an effective method for teaching students
complex processes and procedures such as planning, communicating, problem solving,
and decision making, although the studies that demonstrate these findings do not
include comparison groups taught by competing methods.
Finally, there is some evidence, albeit indirect, that the effectiveness of PBL is
enhanced when it is incorporated into whole-school change efforts.
Directions for Future Research:
Research on PBL has not had a substantial influence on PBL practice. There are a
number of reasons for this pattern. First, this research is very recent. The great majority
of research reported above has been conducted in the last few years. Even teachers who
have recently entered the teaching profession have probably not been exposed to
research on PBL, nor would they be expected to have taken courses in the theory and
practice of PBL. Second, the research is not readily accessible to teachers or
administrators. PBL research, for the most part, has not been presented or even
referred to in popular periodicals or in books. Third, there is not a widely accepted
framework or theory of PBL upon which professional development might be based.
Fourth, much of the research reported above may be irrelevant to the concerns of
classroom teachers. Aside from the evaluation studies of Expeditionary Learning, most
of the research on PBL emanates from one of three research centers (University of
Michigan, Vanderbilt University, and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy).
This research tends to focus on "packaged" projects, problems, or curricula rather than
on teacher-initiated projects or problems. Most practitioners, however, develop their
own projects, either on their own or in collaboration with colleagues on site. This
teacher-initiated, "grassroots" model for PBL may well be different from those depicted
in existing research in subtle but important ways. The disconnection between PBL
research and practice is more than just unfortunate. Whereas practitioners in
traditional classrooms have access to texts, tests, and other materials, as well as to
research-based theories and practices associated with designing lessons, developing
materials, presenting content, guiding practice, managing classrooms, and preparing
tests, PBL practitioners are in a position of having to construct a unique instructional
model almost completely on their own without guidance, texts, resource materials, or
support. Lacking information on what PBL practices are most productive, evidence of
PBL's relative effectiveness in comparison to other methods, and an overall framework
to guide their planning and collaborations, PBL practitioners can be caught in a
vulnerable position, unable to justify their practices to critics or to sustain their work
long enough to master their craft. What seems to be needed is nothing short of a new
theory of learning and instruction, a theory that will provide, on the one hand,
principles for guiding authentic inquiry, knowledge construction (vs. transmission), and
autonomous learning for students, and, on the other hand, models for designing efficient
and productive (standards-based) projects, shifting responsibility to the learner,
coaching without directing, and conducting performance-based assessment for
teachers.
At the minimum, we need the following kinds of research:
 Evidence of the effectiveness of PBL in comparison to other methods.
 Increased research attention on examining the breadth of PBL effects.
 Research on best practices: Procedures for planning, implementing, and
 Managing PBL that are associated with student learning and achievement.
 Research on implementation challenges extended to instances of teacher
initiated PBL.

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ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428
(www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
 Research on the institutionalization of PBL and on PBL-based whole school
change.
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http://edglossary.org/project based-learning/ accessed: 02-03-2016
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9. Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning.

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