Does project-based learning promote mastery of social studies content in an urban high school classroom?
Title
Does project-based learning promote mastery of social studies content in an urban high school classroom?
Creator
Welchman, Emily J.
Description
Welchman, Emily J.
As an urban educator, I struggle to find inclusive methods of instruction and assessment that meet the needs of all of my adolescent students. In my particular teaching environment, 75% of students are significantly below grade level in reading comprehension skills. To prepare my students for college and careers, I need to supplement course content materials with reading comprehension strategies and opportunities to develop real world skills. In order to increase student content proficiency and academic promotion, alternative teaching strategies are necessary. Project-Based Learning has emerged in recent years as a teaching and assessment strategy that provides students the opportunity to use technology and creativity in order to provide proficient evidence of grade level competency. This quasi-experimental comparative action research project aimed to determine whether Project-Based Learning was more or less effective than traditional methods in achieving content proficiency on a unit on “revolution.” Two out of my five United States History classes were chosen to represent the control and experimental groups; at 32 students per class, the research population was 64 total participants. In order to form the most complete picture of the relative efficacy of Project-Based Learning, I collected data from four sources: a pre-treatment student questionnaire, systematic direct observations during the treatment, the rubric scores from their final assessments, and finally, a post-treatment questionnaire. These four data sources indicated that while academic gains were evident in both the control and experimental groups, students who created assessments through the Project-Based Learning curriculum self-reported greater content knowledge gains and demonstrated higher rates of content proficiency than their peers in the control group.
As an urban educator, I struggle to find inclusive methods of instruction and assessment that meet the needs of all of my adolescent students. In my particular teaching environment, 75% of students are significantly below grade level in reading comprehension skills. To prepare my students for college and careers, I need to supplement course content materials with reading comprehension strategies and opportunities to develop real world skills. In order to increase student content proficiency and academic promotion, alternative teaching strategies are necessary. Project-Based Learning has emerged in recent years as a teaching and assessment strategy that provides students the opportunity to use technology and creativity in order to provide proficient evidence of grade level competency. This quasi-experimental comparative action research project aimed to determine whether Project-Based Learning was more or less effective than traditional methods in achieving content proficiency on a unit on “revolution.” Two out of my five United States History classes were chosen to represent the control and experimental groups; at 32 students per class, the research population was 64 total participants. In order to form the most complete picture of the relative efficacy of Project-Based Learning, I collected data from four sources: a pre-treatment student questionnaire, systematic direct observations during the treatment, the rubric scores from their final assessments, and finally, a post-treatment questionnaire. These four data sources indicated that while academic gains were evident in both the control and experimental groups, students who created assessments through the Project-Based Learning curriculum self-reported greater content knowledge gains and demonstrated higher rates of content proficiency than their peers in the control group.
Date
2016
Publisher
Alverno College
Extent
95 pages
Language
English
Format
PDF
Type
Text
Inquiry Project
Subject
Education, Urban
Project method in teaching
Social sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)
Alternative learning strategies
Comparative study
Rights
These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.
Collection
Citation
Welchman, Emily J., “Does project-based learning promote mastery of social studies content in an urban high school classroom?,” Alverno College Library Digital Commons, accessed May 17, 2024, https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/460.