Hi Om, It depends on the goal, what you want to evaluate in the student, or that he really memorizes, and shares in writing what he knows. It is very good to ask for well-structured and objective projects. Where I want to take students. Kind regards

I tend to agree with your implications Om Prakash Chhangani , that projects - and project based learning - must have outcomes of some type. Perhaps project based learning is more similar to problem based learning (PBL). PBL is a well known adult teaching methodology (andragogy not pedagogy). PBL is usually embedded within other types of learning and within the overall curriculum as a method to assist with student learning. Students tend to be motivated to learn better by being involved in real business type projects as compared to what my students used to tell me as "powerpointed to death" with class lectures followed by old grade school style tests or essays. Learning outcomes can be constructed for PBL as well as project based learning. I might suggest some of the studies below (search usin the DOI to find the fulltext). Hope this helps? Ken

Che, F. N., Strang, K. D., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2021). Using experiential learning to improve student attitude and learning quality in software engineering education. International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2(1), 16-38.

doi:10.4018/IJITLHE.20210101.oa20210102

https://www.igi-global.com/article/using-experiential-learning-to-improve-student-attitude-and-learning-quality-in-software-engineering-education/20273133.

Strang, K. D. (2009). Improving supervision of cross-cultural post graduate university students. International Journal of Learning and Change, 4(2), 181-202.

Strang, K. D. (2010). Effectively teach professionals online: Explaining and testing educational psychology theories (2nd ed. Vol. ISBN: 978-3639230840). Saarbruecken, Germany: VDM Publishing. THIS BOOK HAS MOST OF THE ANDRAGOGY THEORIES EXPLAINED.

Strang, K. D. (2010). Measuring self-regulated e-feedback, study approach and academic outcome of multicultural university students. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 20(2), 239-255.

Strang, K. D. (2011). E-learning effectiveness in a quantitative course: theoretical versus industry-related discussion and exam questions. International Journal of Information Communication and Technology Education, 7(2), 26-39. doi:10.4018/jicte.2011040106

Strang, K. D. (2012). Skype synchronous interaction effectiveness in a quantitative management science course. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 10(1), 3-23.

Strang, K. D. (2014). Cognitive learning strategy as a partial effect on major field test in business results. Journal of Education for Business, 89(3), 142-148. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/110.1080/08832323.08832013.08781988

Strang, K. D. (2016). Can online student performance be forecasted by learning analytics? International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 8(1), 26-47. Doi:10.1504/IJTEL.2016.075950, http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=075950

Strang, K. D. (2016). Do the critical success factors from learning analytics predict student outcomes? Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 44(3), 273-299. Doi:210.1177/0047239515615850, http://ets.sagepub.com/content/0047239515615844/0047239515615853/0047239515615273.abstract

Strang, K. D. (2016). Testing young business students for technology acceptance and learning performance. International Journal of Learning Technology, 11(3), 238-265. Doi:210.1504/IJLT.2016.079036

Strang, K. D. (2017). Beyond engagement analytics: Which online mixed-data factors predict student learning outcomes? Journal of Education and Information Technologies, 22(3), 917–937. https://link.springer.com/article/910.1007/s10639-10016-19464-10632

Strang, K. D. (2017). Predicting student satisfaction and outcomes in online courses using learning activity indicators. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 12(1), 32-50. Doi:10.4018/IJWLTT.2017010103, http://www.igi-global.com/article/predicting-student-satisfaction-and-outcomes-in-online-courses-using-learning-activity-indicators/2017171638

Strang, K. D. (2019). Teaching virtual online courses in an era of negative student reviews: Mixed methods controlled experiment and feedback. In K. Becnel (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Virtual Learning Environments (pp. 20-37. doi:10.4018/4978-4011-5225-7987-4018.ch4002 https://www.igi-global.com/book/emerging-technologies-virtual-learning-environments/212351). Hershey, PA: Information Resources Management Association (IRMA).

Dear colleague an interesting issue.

for about 2 decades I am involved in projects as a teaching tool in higher education.

like Kenneth mentioned in his answer there are a lot of valid reasons to make this choice to use a project in your semester.

in projects often 3-5 students collaborate to solve a problem for a principal ( a company or organisation), after solving the problem the principal is happy. Students deliver a ppt presentation and report. Often teachers use a peer group evaluation to fine tune the grades for the students.

in one of my experiences we introduced an oral exam (of about 30 minutes) to check the learning activities according the syllabus and test grid. This made the evaluation great for the teachers, because we were able to deliver fair grades now.

an additional thing we also did was a short MC exam of the written report. We had 6 teachers involved with their own expertise in the project. We asked to make 5 MC questions about the report and their lectures. This was also a great way to check the individual knowledge of the students involved!

good luck,

jan

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your question on this important topic. Thanks to Kenneth David Strang and Jan H Jansen also for their valuable answers.

Yes, you are right that overall assessment of learning for entire course will be difficult due to limiting projects in a course. In this case, the total marks can be divided into three parts and the following steps may be taken:

Step-1: Group assessment- Since a very small group of students solve a real life problem collaborating with each other in a project-based learning and submit a report, a major portion of marks can be given to all for preparing the report;

Step-2: Assessment of Power Point Presentation- Teachers should involve all the students concerned in a small group in the presentation and a portion of marks can be allotted to this section;

Step-3: Oral exam- An oral exam on the project can be arranged to measure the learning outcomes of the course, where the students will participate individually and marks will also be awarded to individual students;

Step-4: A short multiple-choice written exam can be held on their submitted report, where students' individual knowledge on the project as well as on the report can be effectively tested.

By following the above steps, assessment will be more scientific.

Project-Based approach to learning is a very beautiful and interesting one. However, determining what content knowledge and general capabilities you want to assess in the project-based learning (PBL), such as collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking, is vital and most important as it helps to identify learning activities that meet the needs of students at different points of the project and at the end of the project.

Якщо проєкт включає дослідження з низки навчальних дисциплін, то Ви можете визначити рівень знань щодо професійної підготовки здобувачів.

As everybody mentioned, this method has many advangtages, but I want to mention one big disadvantage that we face, at least in this country: How well prepared (academically and in attitude) students are. All the good points mentioned here become useless if the student just want to complete the course and move on. Universities pay a lot of attention to this issue throung a careful planning, rubrics etc, but in a third world country, like the one I live in, this is a variable that must be taken into account. Very often I've wondered how much projects contribute to real assessment / learning under this condition.