New Perspectives in Science Education

Project based learning (PBL), according to the founder of pragmatic education of John Dewey, is an organizational form of teaching [1]. This is mainly about group work, where the pupils team solve the problems related to their lives, the problems solved must be in line with the inter-subject nature of PBL [2]. The specific theme of PBL should always be based on the interests of the pupils themselves. At present, PBL is very popular in Czech education, as is evident from school education programs that are based on the requirements of the Framework Educational Programs [3]. However, the word project is very overused and is marked by many school activities that do not meet the principles on which the PBL is based. From the above information, it is clear, that realizing PBL instruction in accordance with its original principles involves a detailed examination of its methodology by the teacher. The paper aims to present how Czech teachers implement PBL in biology or other science subjects with respect to the original principles defined by Dewey. Furthermore, the current research aims to map out what materials teachers use when designing project lessons, whether there are topics that are more often implemented within the framework of PBL, whether teachers are implementing PBL from the themes generated by pupils themselves. The methodology of the research is semi-structured interviews with teachers. It has been found that although: a) many teachers do not follow the principles of PBL b) do not include PBL themes that result from the interest of pupils c) do not take into account the cross-curricular nature of PBL d) do not respect the condition of creating a realistic output or product at the end of the PBL, yet they devote themselves to the PBL and give it a certain amount of space - which we consider to be beneficial to the pupil's learning, since any change over the ways in which it can be used can cause curiosity and thus the interest of pupils.

Keywords: Project based learning, Realization of project based learning, Secondary school, Biology education;

References:
[1] BELL, Stephanie. Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the Future. The Clearing House. 2010, 83, 39–43.
[2] THOMAS, J. W. A review of research on project-based learning. 2000.
[3] RAJSIGLOVÁ, J. Project based learning and other methods and forms used by Prague teachers supervising pedagogical training in science lesons. In M. Rusek, K. Vojíř (Eds.), Project-based Education in Science Education XV., (pp. 144-151). Prague, 2018: Charles University, Faculty of Education. ISBN 978-80-7290-980-3.