WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education
Print ISSN: 1790-1979, E-ISSN: 2224-3410
Volume 16, 2019
PBL Effects on Engineering Education in Junior High School Robotics Practice
Authors: ,
Abstract: The practice of "meaningful learning" has become an inseparable part of the educational discourse. As a result, many schools have adopted the Project Based Learning approach (PBL), which represents different teaching methods. The PBL approach also changes the position of the teacher as a source of knowledge as well as teacher-student relationship. The integration of project-based learning (PBL) and its implementation in the teaching of the robotics profession in junior high schools, have created a new reality in which teachers who use project-based learning for teaching robotics come from diverse professional backgrounds, and in many cases, they are selected by the principle of the school. Therefore, we examine the teaching experience of teachers, who manage a project in a field of knowledge that is not their expertise. This study examined teachers’ perceptions of their experience in teaching using the PBL approach. The study data was collected using structured questionnaires, which also included open-ended questions. These questionnaires were answered by teachers from different fields of knowledge: social studies, sciences and engineering. Each questionnaire included attitudes relating to the PBL teaching experience and the contribution of the PBL approach to both teachers and students. The findings show a high level of general satisfaction among the teachers and a sense of self-efficacy in teaching PBL. The findings additionally indicate that class tutors perceived the ecological contribution more than professional teachers, and professional teachers in the fields of human studies and sciences perceived it is more significant than engineering teachers. The following discussion presents the implications of teaching using the PBL approach as a pedagogical approach that indicates a change in the traditional role of teachers.
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Pages: 36-48
WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, ISSN / E-ISSN: 1790-1979 / 2224-3410, Volume 16, 2019, Art. #5