WPI’s global and off-campus IQPs, rich with real-world sponsors/projects and increasingly diverse teams, require that both faculty and students navigate a network of ambiguous situations and relationships. Despite the increasing adoption of project-based learning as a preferred educational model across higher education, and the prevalence of project-based work in STEM careers, research on how to best prepare students and faculty to identify and navigate ambiguity inherent to project-based learning is limited. Seeking to fill this important gap, this graduate thesis advances a pilot qualitative study focused on how students in domestic and off campus IQPs experience and navigate ambiguity in their IQPs. The thesis presents preliminary grounded theory regarding the types of ambiguity experienced by students, how students navigate through the ambiguity, and elements that appear to impact a student’s success in that navigation.

The dominant pedagogy for engineering educations still remains chalk and talk despite the large body of education research that demonstrates its ineffectiveness. Traditional approaches to structural engineering education place a heavy emphasis on lecture-based delivery of the theories of structural analysis and the behaviour of common constructions materials. Design projects are given varying emphasis at different institutions, but are frequently left to the final year of the course. Assessment weighting often heavily favours examinations over project work. In recent years, the engineering profession and the bodies responsible for accrediting engineering programs have called for change in assessment and teaching practices.This study proposed that the use of design projects in structural engineering is an effective method of learning that models industrial practice. Projects enable students to understand the synthesis of structural analysis, material behaviour and availability, constructability and economic reality that occurs in the professional practice of structural engineering. To examine effectiveness of project-based learning in structural engineering a case study was undertaken in a third year undergraduate course of a civil engineering program in South Australia.This thesis first provides some background to structural engineering and current practice in structural engineering education. Project-based learning as applied to engineering is also examined. The case study design and data collection are then discussed. The study was developed around a conceptual framework for educational evaluation that differentiates between the intended, implemented, perceived and achieved curriculum. The intended curriculum, defined as the original vision underlying a curriculum, was developed through a literature review that considered the requirements of industry and ++ / engineering accreditation bodies. The degree to which the intended curriculum was successfully implemented in the course was evaluated through video-tapes of lessons, journal records and interviews. The actual learning experiences as perceived or experienced by the students, was evaluated through student journals, interviews and two questionnaires, one of which was also administered to a senior structural engineering industry group to enable a comparison between the student and industry groups perceptions of the importance of certain skills in the engineering profession. The achieved curriculum, defined as the resulting learning outcomes of the students, was also examined. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the findings of the study as well as their significance and limitations and then considers the possible extensions of project-based learning to other areas of engineering and some of the issues that will need to be addressed for this to occur.

The purposes of the research which is based on the framework of knowledge management whose five dimensions are knowledge gaining, depositing, sharing, applying and innovating are divided into two parts. First, under the framework of knowledge management, evalueate how junior school students perform towards each dimension. Second, discuss the reasons and effects from the information of questionnaires. And, from five dimensions of the framework of knowledge management, analyze different behaviors on blogs of junior school students and various factors of influences in this survey. The method is mainly by qualitative research and auxiliarily by quantitative research. The study subjects consist of 59 students in the weekend project-based learning class of academic year of 2006 in Guo-Guang Laboratory School,NSYSU. The research time was from September in 2006 to August in 2007. Based on the five dimensions of the framework of knowledge management, we can draw conclusions as follows. First, the gaining of knowledge was mostly from the internet and also others¡¦ blogs. If it was from academic books, we would surely gain knowledge of higher levels. Second, it was easy to deposit gained knowledge on blogs. However, it would be a better deposition after systematically sorting. Also, blogs which kept tracks of learning struggles efficiently could produce metacognitions. Third, on blogs, students were looking forward to others¡¦ responses. However, the course was limited in excessively close relationships and some factors. As a result, sharing behaviors were not quite frequent. Blogs made distance closer and turned one way construction of knowledge into mutual. Building internet groups on blogs tended to produce the common languages and impelled us to apply knowledge. It took more psychology levels to innovate knowledge and needed higher spontaneous motivations to learn.

This study aims at integrating Big6 skill with the project-based learning in social studies. To understand how students make Big6 skill as learning Scaffolding of the project-based learning. The researcher takes thirty-two fifth graders of an elementary in kaohsiung as research object, using action research to progress the lessons with Big6 skills and Project-based Learning. Analyze the data rebased from the following: lesson plans, questionnaires, worksheets, teaching journals, learning journals, interview, assessments from teachers¡¦ and students¡¦ self-evaluation to understand the learning of the students and to be the adjusting basis of instruction. The conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) the two-staged teaching experiment which is the integration of Big6 skill and project-based learning is effective and practicable. (2) Teachers, parents and students are all approval. (3) The integration of Big6 and project-based learning in social studies is helpful in promoting the student¡¦s communication and technology abilities. (4) Team Co-learning is workable in the integration of Big6 and project-based learning in social studies. (5) Big6 is helpful in project-based learning. (6) Project-based learning is suitable for the instruction of social studies. (7) The homeroom teacher who applies project-based learning in teaching can effectively control the learning pacing of the students.(8) The critical thinking abilities of the students are not evidently promoted. (9) The teacher who practices this way of teaching may encounter some difficulties such as the students¡¦ abilities of making projects, normal course pressure, time and classroom limitation and computer disorder. (10) The students who join this way of learning may also encounter some difficulties ¡V how to successfully work together, improve the ways of the data searching capability, reading and language deficiency, computer disorder and the respect of intelligence property right.(11) Library education should be brought into the elementary curricula to reinforce the students¡¦ communication and technology abilities. According to the way of conclusion research, there proposals as follows: (1) Make an intact project-based learning plan in an overall way. (2) Students with certain communication and technology abilities will be better for practicing the project-based learning. (3) Only the most profound Big6 skill can the best result be presented. (4) Library education should be brought into the formal curricula.(5) Cultivate students¡¦ reading and language proficiency. And also some suggestion of related studies is included for the reference of the future study.

The goal of this work is to modify an existing course module on engineering better medicines to produce a more engaging physiologically realistic and pedagogically sound curriculum. The original module explored drug delivery using a one-compartment model, which examined only the dissolution of medicine; the module relied on a traditional teacher lead pedagogy. The curriculum modifications include engineering a two-compartment model students use to test the medicines they design, incorporating both dissolution and transfer to the blood and project based learning strategies have been added to produce a student centered project. The purpose of these modifications is to produce a curriculum successful in providing a diverse group of students, both male and female, of all socioeconomic backgrounds as well as ethnic and cultural groups with a positive engineering experience. / text

To address the need to improve student achievement in STEM disciplines, effort has been made to develop a new of tools for STEM education (Bybee, 2013). The Robotics and Engineering Design Curriculum (REDC) provides students an opportunity to develop systems thinking abilities while integrating science and mathematics concepts. Using an exploratory case study approach within a situated cognition framework, this study examines the effects of using REDC on 54 eighth grade students’ performance and engagement during 5-week integrative STEM instruction in the mathematics and science class. Situational factors that contribute to students’ success in learning STEM concepts are also examined. This study employed mixed-methods techniques. The quantitative data collected included pre/post achievement tests and pre/post motivation and engagement scale (MES) surveys. Quantitative data analysis included reliability analyses and paired sample t-tests. The results of the reliability analyses for the achievement test and MES survey report acceptable Cronbach’s alpha (.843 and .787, respectively). Qualitative data collected included semi-structured interviews, field notes and student artifacts (engineering notebook and printed prototypes). Qualitative data analysis used coding procedures suggested by Saldana (2012) where patterns were identified and grouped to allow the emergence of themes. Collectively, the data was triangulated to support six emerging themes. The emerging themes regarding the effect of using the curriculum are as follows: (1) the developing anthropomorphic relationship with the robot enhances engagement, (2) engagement is impacted by purposeful and intentional physical action, and (3) purposeful collaboration promotes engagement through the construction of meaning and interaction. Three themes emerged identifying factors that contribute to success: (1) learning environment must have transformative learning potential, (2) learning experiences underpinned by design thinking contribute to success and (3) contextual relevance is enhanced when students have the freedom to their design learning journey. This study addresses the need for research into the implementation of 3-D design and manufacturing in the middle school classroom. Bybee, R. W. (2013). The case for STEM education: Challenges and opportunities. National Science Teachers Association. Saldaña, J. (2012). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (No. 14). Los Angeles, Ca: Sage.

Project-based learning has long been used in the educational realm as it emphasis a student-centered strategy which promotes meaning, enriched learning that enhances inquiry and problem-solving skills in a rich, authentic environment. The relevance and authentic design of projects may further be enhanced by the use of technology in the classroom. Technology is rapidly changing the face of American education in ways that were barely thinkable as little as five years before and provides the possibility for student to collaborate and complete complex project-based tasks with further level of authenticity which connects to the students preferred method of learning and productivity outside the classroom. At New Tech high school in Coppell, Texas, the entire curriculum is based around this project-based learning in a technology-infused classroom. This qualitative, case-based study is designed to explore and examine the teachers' perceptions of the use of project-based learning, technology in this non-traditional environment. The study also investigates the teacher perceptions of students' response to project-based learning and the technology available to them in their project-based tasks. Finally the study discusses the finding and their possible implications for traditional educational environments.

The study aimed to discuss the impact of project-based learning on primary fifth graders with regards to inclination of self-regulation learning readiness and critical thinking disposition. The study adopted the Solomon four-group design with study objects taken from fifth graders from specific primary school in Kaohsiung. A total of 4 classes were randomly sampled with 2 classes being the experimental groups and 2 classes being the control group. The experimental group was applied with the six steps from WebQuest(Dodge & March,1995) as Scaffolding project-based learning in ¡§Taiwanese traditional Arts and Culture,¡¨ where the control group is excluded. After conducting 24 classes of experimental teaching for 6 weeks with 4 classes per week, t-test and two-way ANOVA were applied to understand the enhancement effect of self-regulation learning readiness and critical thinking disposition on fifth graders accepting project-based learning. The study further comprehend the impact of implementation of project-based learning for the self-regulation learning readiness and critical thinking disposition of primary school fifth graders with low, intermediate and high academic achievement. The research results are listed as follow: I. Under ¡§Unprecedented conditions,¡¨ the project-based learning program facilitates self-regulation learning readiness of primary fifth graders. II. The implementation of project-based learning can improve self-regulation learning readiness of primary school fifth graders with intermediate and high academic achievement. Students with high academic achievement show higher statistical significance than students with intermediate and low academic achievement with regards to improvement on self-regulation learning readiness. Students with intermediate achievement with regards to progress in self-regulation learning readiness do not show significance higher than students with low academic achievement. III. Project-based learning facilitates improvement on the critical thinking disposition of primary fifth graders. IV. Project-based learning can improve the critical thinking disposition of primary fifth graders with high academic achievement. The students with high academic achievement show higher significance than students with intermediate and low academic achievement with regards to enhancement of critical thinking disposition. Students with intermediate academic achievement do not show significance higher than students with low academic achievement with regards to progress in critical thinking disposition. The following recommendations are proposed according to the study results for curriculum teaching and future study: I. Implement the advantages of WebQuest to design project-based learning and to increase the number of classes. II. Students with different level of capacity will undergo different layers of project-based learning, which will be implemented to teaching with theory of cooperative learning. III. Researches undergo long-term follow-up or gradual removal of the scaffolding may be used to increase qualitative data collection and analysis.

This dissertation consists of three articles that explore the effect of professional development (PD) on teachers‘ understanding and implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project based learning (PBL), and the effect of STEM PBL on students‘ mathematics achievement. Teachers in three high schools participated in the research activities. They attended sustained PDs provided by one STEM center based in a Southwestern university, and were required to implement STEM PBLs once every six-weeks for three years (2008 through 2010). The first article employed a mixed-method case study to explore the relation between the quality of the teachers‘ in-class STEM PBL implementations, understanding of the PBL in STEM education, and attendance in the STEM PBL activities. Quantitative findings indicate that attendance in the PD activities was significantly correlated with the quality of the in-class PBL implementation in 2010, yet not in 2011. Moreover, qualitative findings show that the teachers viewed the STEM PBL pedagogy as a means to promote student interest in mathematics, cultivate the interdisciplinary research culture in K-12 classrooms, and help improve students‘ content understanding. The second article investigated the effect of STEM PBL, especially on Hispanic and at-risk students‘ mathematics achievement. The participants were 528 students in the three STEM PBL high schools and 2,688 students in non-STEM PBL schools in the same region. Latent growth modeling was used to analyze the repeated measures across years. STEM PBL instruction positively influenced Hispanic students‘ achievement in mathematics, but not at-risk students. The third study investigated whether participating in STEM PBL activities affected students who had varied performance levels, and to what extent students‘ individual factors influenced their mathematics achievement. The participants were 836 high school students in the three schools. The findings from the hierarchical linear modeling showed that low performing students showed statistically significantly higher growth rates on mathematics scores than high and middle performing students, over the three years. In addition, student‘s ethnicity and economic status were good predictors of academic achievement. This dissertation is the first to reveal the effect of STEM PBL on student academic achievement relating to inservice teacher PD by employing the sophisticated research methodology.

Project work has gained a prominent place in research for its significant educational potential (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Fallik et al., 2008). Teachers, however, have not been providing project work with a prominent place in the elementary classroom (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Fallik et al., 2008; Rogers et al., 2010; Tse, Lam, Lam, & Loh, 2005). To encourage and support teachers in practicing Project-Based Learning (PBL), we need to understand what motivates teachers to enact PBL, the challenges they face in doing so, and ways to support teachers in overcoming these challenges. To examine teachers’ lived experiences in enacting student-centered project work, the current study used the method of participatory action research (PAR). This method included the active participation of a teacher (Megan) and me (the principal researcher) in the design, enactment, and reflection upon a constructivist, whole-class project in an eastern Ontario Grade 5 classroom. The study was structured around two research questions: (1) what did we perceive as challenges and benefits of organizing and enacting a student-centered project, and (2) how did we perceive that our collaboration in organizing, enacting, and reflecting upon this project impacted our thinking and practices with regard to project work? Megan’s and my reflections were collected over the course of the project through two semi-structured interviews, diary writings, a pre-structured planning journal, and three semi-structured discussions. Megan and I perceived project work as beneficial to students’ engagement and learning. Enacting the project was challenging, as we lacked the management and organizational skills to enact project work efficiently, and we possessed a strong desire to control the direction of the project. Megan and I were further challenged by students’ lack of skills and comfort with the project’s demands and the lack of school support and time we needed for the project. Collaboratively experiencing and reflecting upon the project demonstrated how essential these challenges were in increasing Megan’s and my comfort, appreciation, understanding, and skills in enacting project work. Based on these findings, the study encourages teachers to collaboratively design, experience, and reflect upon project work in the context of their classrooms. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-09 16:30:00.451