The Effectiveness of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) Approach as a Way to Engage Students in Learning

TLDR

Project‑based learning has become more widespread, yet critics question whether it truly supports student‑centered instruction or merely reinforces technocratic teaching. This study evaluates how PBL enhances student engagement by examining its impact on collaborative, disciplinary, iterative, and authentic learning. Data were collected via a questionnaire from 124 teachers using PBL, and structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the relationships. Results show that PBL significantly boosts collaborative, disciplinary, iterative, and authentic learning, thereby increasing student engagement, and the authors recommend its broader adoption in universities.

Abstract

The prevalence of project-based learning (PBL) has increased significantly, contributing to serious discussions about its advent. PBL’s critics doubt whether accentuating the practice supports teachers in using a technocratic method in education, instead of promoting instruction that is responsive to students’ ideas. Thus, this study aims to develop on using the effectiveness of the PBL approach, as a way to engage students in learning as well as to incorporate literature on the PBL method for educational purposes. The research hypotheses therefore measure the influence of the PBL method on collaborative learning, disciplinary subject learning, iterative learning, and authentic learning, which, in turn, engage students in learning. To achieve the research purpose, a questionnaire was employed as the main method of collecting data and dispensed to 124 teachers who were using the PBL approach. Structural equation modeling (SEM), a quantitative research method, was employed to obtain the findings. A significant relation was found between the PBL method and collaborative learning, disciplinary subject learning, iterative learning, and authentic learning, which, in turn, produced student engagement. The results show that the PBL technique improves student engagement by enabling knowledge and information sharing and discussion. Thus, the PBL approach is highly recommended for educational use by students and should be encouraged in universities.