Integrating New Life Skills As Learning Outcomes in Education Through The Use of Project-Based Learning
Integrating New Life Skills As Learning Outcomes in Education Through The Use of Project-Based Learning
Integrating New Life Skills As Learning Outcomes in Education Through The Use of Project-Based Learning
ABSTRACT:- Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in adopting projects and new approaches in the
learning process as a way to develop educational layers worldwide. Project-based learning has been found at the
center of these new approaches. As this has gained popularity in the educational sphere, many schools view this
methodology as a tool to develop students learning and promote their competencies through the exploration,
creation and the construction of solutions to problems. Today, using project-based learning in schools to engage
learners in life-long activities is a significantly important opportunity to develop new skills. A central aim of
these skills, here, is to promote the efficiency of the twenty first century leaders within schools, which shape all
classic criteria for public integrity. This paper aims at examining important venues that many schools wish to
incorporate to develop new attitudes within and outside school life by adopting project-based learning. It
attempts to show the challenges of such implementation and the way life skills are progressed. Hence, the paper
adopts a meta-analysis technique, whereby a special examination of the various already conducted studies came
out with conclusions. Because of its diagnostic nature, this method allows the researcher to explore some
pitfalls which provide potential opportunities of alternative conclusions to be adopted in structured approaches.
The major conclusions drawn from this paper are to be deeply and qualitatively discussed and analyzed.
I. INTRODUCTION
Recent research shows that working with projects through the latest approaches is a new trend to
develop learning styles in education. Project-based learning (PBL), which has covered a considerable ground in
the field, has long been recognized as an effective method that has provided learners with more space for
creativity. Thuan (2018) maintains that a great number of studies on this approach, which has been
acknowledged to be effective and fruitful in the 21st century education, has been carried out on the global scale
because learners all over the world gain knowledge and skills by experiencing and solving real world problems
(p. 327). He contends that learners have the opportunity to construct knowledge by generating their projects
based on their interests and individual differences by connecting both their new knowledge and their existing
one and are able to apply them to similar settings, mostly in a meaningful context. To this, Martínez (2019)
argues that PBL has been fit to all effective learning contexts and practices, and mostly incorporated into
language education along with a constructed interest in student-centered learning, collaborative learning, and
autonomous learning. Hence, Jalinus, Nabawi, and Mardin (2017) assert that the innovative learning models can
direct learners to create successful projects and activities which basically they need to become more involved in
their own learning process. This learning involvement, El Bakkali (2020) assumes, generates a leadership style
in their learning outcomes. Thus, adopting this method with such style promotes the learners’ attitudes and,
more importantly, their way of thinking.
The integration of PBL in school curriculum has long been marked as a revolutionary method in
education to formally foreground a teaching/learning strategy that fosters the role of both the learner and the
teacher. This method, a study conducted by Intel Teach Program (2012) argues, has gained a considerably
relevant position in the classroom just as researchers in the field have documented what teachers have long
understood; that is, learners become more engaged in learning when they have enough space to dig into
challenging, and difficult problems that closely resemble real life. This study claims that learners’ abilities to
acquire new understanding are enhanced when they are “connected to meaningful problem-solving activities,
and when students are helped to understand why, when, and how those facts and skills are relevant.” To this,
and according to Yam and Rossini (2010), learners construct knowledge through their own activities, mainly on
what they already know, where active learning is crucial in the construction of learning. Accordingly, they
assert that PBL is a teaching approach that disengages learners’ participation in the learning process to construct
their knowledge in an active learning environment (p. 3). However, and as a substantial element in this
approach, teachers, Aksela and Haatainen (2019) maintain, tend to construct a unique instructional mode,
relying mostly on their own and, to a bare minimum, on the guidance of texts, or resource materials, which
allows them to cope with its advantages to advance active, motivated ways to develop new teaching styles
(p.10).
Purpose
The objective of this study is to analyze the progression stages of life skills through the implementation
of project-based learning in class as an efficient method in the educational sector. To this, a body of literature
review about the various ways and styles of its incorporation will develop a framework that reveals the learning
outcomes to bring important public integrity skills and competences as life-long learning outcomes in the
educational sphere.
Research Questions
1. What are the effective ways to better incorporate PBL in the learning process?
2. How do learners develop public integrity as new life skills by adopting PBL?
3. What are the most implications of this approach in schools?
II. METHODOLOGY
Writing this paper is gathering data through a substantial study of relevant related works by working on
a different education-linked database to dig for appropriate, peer-reviewed articles and books. This systematic
literature review tends to focus on how to develop life skills through the use of project-based learning with a
central aim to enhance a new style of generating new learning outcomes. As the objective of this study is to
increase the learner’s satisfaction by adopting this method, this comprehensive study frames a selected literature
which can be categorized within the frames of meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. I have intended to conduct a
meta-analysis method by getting the findings from different works on the same subject and analyze them using
standardized procedures. Urquhart (2010) argues that patterns and relationships in the meta-analysis are
detected through conclusions and associated with a deductive research approach. Meta-synthesis, on the other
hand, is based on non-statistical techniques, which integrates evaluated and interpreted findings of multiple
qualitative research studies. Along with this, Walsh and Downe (2005) assert that a meta-synthesis literature
review is conducted when following the inductive research approach. This paper, thus, is a meta-synthesis of
current scholarly articles, where no further ethical considerations are required. Yet, this method helps in
bringing together qualitative data to frame new interpretations of the incorporation of PBL in the modern school
culture as a new style of educational leadership, mainly through an explanatory theory of its integration.
The literary flow of the implementation of PBL in education has long considered tasks and activities
solving as triggering learners’ challenging questions or problems with the idea to give them the opportunity to
work independently within a time slot. Thuan (2018) argues that what has basically constituted this method is
the kind of projects that mostly involve learners in considering problem-solving, decision making, and
instigating activities over extended periods of time (p.329). The advancements of these activities, which extend
tasks with language skills, he maintains, “combine in working towards an agreed goal and may include the
following: planning, the gathering of information through reading, listening, interviewing, and observing; group
discussion of information; problem solving; oral and written reporting; and displaying.” (p. 329) Following this,
PBL has maintained a strong philosophy for such convenient flexibilities and possibilities for mere application
in education practice and can contribute to a variety of research and advanced tasks. Through these tasks the
learners seek to figure out solutions for queries while thinking deeply on data that is collected, interpreted,
predicted, and evaluated. Along with this, Bagheri, et.al (2013) claim that the most important thing for PBL is
focusing on the act of performing more than focusing on learning because learners learn by discovering,
performing, and innovating (p. 18). For them, the teaching-learning cycle is more planned through creative and
constructive activities other than stagnant memorized tasks because PBL ”could foreseeably ensure more
effective result by allowing students to actively participate in the learning process and allowing them to produce
something in collaboration with others.” In this regards, Helle, Tynjälä, and Olkinuora (2006) use the
Vygotskyan argument1 for collaborative learning through which this process takes place primarily on the
social, interpsychological plane, and then on the intrapsychological plane when a learner internalizes what has
first been experienced in social interaction (p. 296). They contend that the concept about the ideal state for
learning is what Vygotsky called the zone of proximal development, which mainly refers to the distance
between the learner’s actual state of development determined by independent problem-solving and the potential
level of development that he or she can reach through the guidance of adults or collaboration with peers (p. 297)
Finally, Learners’ social interactions can be achieved with high degree of success in a way better than a learning
that centers on their own.
1
Cited in Helle, L., Tynjälä, P., & Olkinuora, E. (2006). Project-based learning in post-secondary education–
theory, practice and rubber sling shots. Higher education, 51(2), 287-314.
Multidisciplinary Journal www.ajmrd.com Page | 3
Integrating New Life Skills as Learning Outcomes in Education through the Use of Project…
2.2. Adopting Public Integrity as a Life Skill through the Use of PBL
Today, the development of education worldwide requires public support which responds to some
governmental measures by giving weight primarily to public integrity as one of the life skills of project based
tasks. A study conducted by OECD2 shows that such education can be found either within the school system or
through tools offered independently of the school system through public integrity as one of the key tools that
can be leveraged to cultivate a culture of integrity in education (13). To this end, public integrity crops up as
one of the educational projects that sparkles for a whole generation of learners to adopt new approaches of new
skills. What is this approach to educational development, then? Public integrity, this study shows, refers to the
consistent alignment of shared ethical values, principles and norms for upholding the public interest over private
interests in the public sector which implies that the acts of all members of society reflect a set of relevant values
that place the public good over private gain (p. 9). Another study by the same organization under the theme
“Education for Integrity Teaching on Anti-Corruption, Values and the Rule of Law” shows that public integrity
means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, where most societies pass on values and norms
related to public integrity through school, community and family life (p. 77). Accordingly, when corruption and
unethical behaviour seem normal, this study maintains, the outcomes of public integrity might not be
approachably promising or even missing. But, as schools choose to educate public integrity, public good is
emphasized over private gain and complex problems are dealt with by institutions in an ethical and principled
manner.
Public integrity upholds learners as valued, active participants who can be mere practitioners in the
design of educational projects and the more they take the lead, the more sustainable and successful the project
will be. To this, the first study maintains, education about public integrity is as much about building ethical
character as it is about equipping students with specific knowledge and skills to advance their society with an
aim to cultivate lifelong values for integrity as well as encouraging young citizens to accept their roles and
responsibilities for public integrity (p. 13). To achieve this, it asserts, education about public integrity draws on
concepts and teaching methods from both values education (e.g. ethics, moral or character) and citizenship
education (e.g. civics, political, social), where values education focuses on instilling the good character within
students and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be informed, actively committed, and critically
reflective about the values in their society. The study adds, it goes beyond simply disseminating knowledge on
values, and aims to give students the tools to understand the principles and procedures involved in making
ethical decisions. Because as the old maxim says “values are caught not taught”, it is not enough to simply tell
citizens what “good” values are and that they must follow them (p. 14). With public integrity, results show big
influence that drives public decision making, which, in turn, leads to greater societal development.
Building a culture of integrity in society, the second underlined OECD study asserts, necessarily begins
with the education of young people because the knowledge, skills and behaviours they acquire would shape the
future of their country, and assist them uphold public integrity, which is essential to prevent corruption;
similarly, any recommendation on public integrity should call on countries to raise awareness of its benefits,
carry out related education initiatives wherever appropriate and reduce tolerance of violations of its standards
(p. 9). However, and as discussed in the second OECD study, it is an obvious implication for education about
public integrity that if teachers are not trained in participatory and interactive methods, then resources need to
be committed to in-service training in this methodology (p. 36). Although it is clear, in this study, that without a
shift to participatory and skills focused methods from traditional content focused methods the net effect is little;
it is worth bearing in mind that even with in-service teacher training, change in teaching practice is slow,
meaning that teachers may take several years to integrate and implement new methods into their teaching
properly. Ultimately, it contends that this is especially the case of existing expectations about how a teacher
should teach and the role of students is heavily prescribed by both the ministry of education and society in
general. In other words, little change can be expected in teaching practice, and even if training occurs, there are
hindrances for teachers to use interactive methods. It is obvious that as the educational system is critical to
inspiring norms for public integrity at an early age, the learning procedures which have a direct relevance to
students’ daily lives are direct responses about public practices to people’s daily experience.
Back to OECD study on “Education for Integrity Teaching on Anti-Corruption, Values and the Rule of
Law” it is claimed that there is a tremendous shift around the world that involves governments using their
2
In 2016, the OECD, Greece and the European Commission launched a project to increase integrity and reduce
corruption in Greece through technical empowerment of the Greek authorities for the implementation of the
NCAP. The project was completed in January 2018. Feasibility Study on Integrity Education in Greece Greece-
OECD Project: Technical Support on Anti-Corruption. Retrieved from www.oecd.org
Multidisciplinary Journal www.ajmrd.com Page | 5
Integrating New Life Skills as Learning Outcomes in Education through the Use of Project…
educational systems to communicate to learners the roles and responsibilities of public integrity through school
curriculum which should engage young people in an ongoing dialogue and exploration about how they as
citizens can protect public integrity (p. 9). Public integrity should be primarily set at the top priority of
educational reform through engaging learners in projects that address public affairs by means of implementing
and integrating skills, and also applying tasks on public integrity. Also, through extracurricular activities, this
approach can get insights especially through the use of technological tools using materials and resources which
aim to provide a reference for educational leaders to advance public integrity. To this end, education for public
integrity is almost concerned with public practices that allow learners to be equipped with knowledge and skills
to persist in a globalized world.
The incorporation of various activities and tasks on integrity into the school curriculum and extracurricular
school programs is a growing global phenomenon, which allows for an initial overview of good practices. These
programs offer a whole range of cultural contexts which determine the good practices of public integrity.
Hence, the 2018 OECD Project shows, as education about public integrity can be applied to what students have
learnt in various classes, the risk of becoming boring is just presented as knowledge to be memorized by
repetition; instead, teachers can create simulations where learners themselves are decision makers, which, in
turn, can help education about public integrity to be both instructive, and memorable (p. 16). To this, this
project asserts, by laying down foundations repeatedly during the period of compulsory education, educators
can lay the foundations of value systems that later build confidence in how to uphold public integrity, as well as
trust in the understanding of the institutions and their processes that protect public integrity.
IV. LIMITATIONS
It is clear that there is a number of limitations to the implementation of PBL in the learning process
which can be summed up as follows: teachers are not fully knowledgeable about the systematic incorporation of
this approach although they tend to implement it to the best of their abilities without professional development
of its constructivist nature. Also this failure might persist because they lack an in-depth exposure to the
processing of different stages or even where PBL can be approached on the continuum of the learning process.
Moreover, teachers’ use of PBL, Tamim and Grant (2011) contend, may reflect their comfort level in creating a
balance between curriculum and testing needs, on one hand, and their aspirations towards employing
constructivist strategies, on the other (p.459). Some important questions which Tamim and Grant pose, here, is
whether all teachers should be encouraged to become initiators or if PBL could in fact be implemented
effectively in any of these uses? And, can PBL implementation be regarded on a continuum starting from
reinforcement of learning ending in initiation of learning? To answer these questions they bring Thomas (2000)
who states that for a project to be considered a PBL activity, it should be central and not peripheral to the
curriculum, where learners struggle with the concepts of a discipline, and where they construct and transform
new skills and understandings. Another problem is the common barriers to implementing PBL which effectively
include teachers’ resistance to student-driven learning because they often see this as giving up control of the
class just as teachers with little practice on PBL are more prone to resist the idea that learners should be
responsiblized on their own learning. To this, Aksela and Haatainen (2019) stress on other barriers through
which the implementation of PBL are teachers’ confusing inquiry-based instruction with various activities in the
class with a hint to their inability to motivate learners to work in collaborative teams, and, thus, overcoming
student’s resistance to employ critical thinking (p.11). Another problem is the time slot allotted for the
implementation of PBL. Along granting learners sufficient autonomy and understanding of the different
processes of this approach leads to time constraints.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Along the analysis of the implementation of PBL, it is indispensable to understand the advantages and
challenges that can be designed in practice in order to determine the various forms of support for teachers. This
approach brings substantial changes to the teacher’s way of approaching contemporary projects which trigger
their thinking about designing classroom structures, activities, and tasks. It is assumed also as a conclusion that
an in-service training for teachers is important to support their pedagogical content knowledge in PBL. Also in
order to work on an interactive learning as part of a community reaching beyond the limits of their school
culture, teacher’s pedagogical development should be developed while working together with the students, and
other teachers at their school or other collaborators or teaching practices from other teachers as well as online
instructions and training. It is also understood that learning is shared through workshops, for best projects as
well as best teaching practices. Although it takes much time to learn to use PBL in practice, teachers should
deepen their understanding and teaching practices through continuous and collaborative models for further
trainings.
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