Sustainable Urban Race, una experiencia de Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos

Abstract

Educational research has highlighted the pedagogical value of Project Based Learning (PBL) in teaching and learning processes, supporting its ability to effectively engage and motivate students. However, PBL does not guarantee greater student engagement and better learning outcomes. Despite the existence of much research on the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of PBL, the findings are somewhat contradictory and do not present a clear conclusion. Furthermore, there is limited research on how to foster student engagement in learning through PBL. Therefore, the general aim of this doctoral thesis is to identify those mechanisms of PBL that are involved in the success of this form of presenting the curriculum, from the point of view of the level of learning achieved by the students. This objective is the premise around which four general objectives of this doctoral thesis are structured by compendium: 1. To analyse the learning of students in a real PBL experience in the field of technical education. 2. To test whether the amount of teaching support (scaffolding) during the project moderates (strengthening or weakening) the satisfaction of students' psychological needs (self-determination), and the effect of this on the group's engagement and learning outcomes. 3. To understand the mechanisms that explain the engagement and positive outcomes of challenging and enriching learning experiences with support. 4. To test how teaching behaviours (affective involvement and autonomy support) influence self-determination, affective and cognitive engagement and learning outcomes. The experimental context of this doctoral thesis is the Sustainable Urban Race Project (SUR) of the University of Huelva (UHU), specifically during the editions from 2018 to 2022. The SUR project consists of advising pre-university educational centres in the construction of an electric vehicle in a PBA environment, which must be capable of transporting at least one person in an urban environment using solar energy; and organising a competition to show these vehicles to the rest of the participants. The sample consisted of 17 pre-university schools in the south of Spain, with 448 students and 145 teachers taking part. The data collection instruments were an online questionnaire to teachers and students, and a focus group conducted with a group of teachers participating in all editions of the project. The constructs measured were: learning context, needs satisfaction, engagement and level of learning. Quantitative data were statistically analysed using SPSS, construct validity checks, percentage analysis of observed values for the variables, structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis using AMOS software. Qualitative data were transcribed using Sonix.Ai software and analysed using a category system. The results obtained demonstrated: firstly, the high degree of satisfaction of the subjects with the levels of learning achieved; secondly, the influence of continued teacher support on the association of self-determination with affective and cognitive engagement; thirdly, the direct association of a challenging and supportive learning environment with affective engagement and, with cognitive engagement and learning outcomes, to the extent that autonomous teamwork is fostered and learners feel empowered to carry out the project successfully; and finally, the importance of providing a well-defined structure at the beginning of the project, while at more advanced stages support for group autonomy will enable learners to feel empowered to carry out the project successfully; and finally, the importance of providing a well-defined structure at the beginning of the project, while at more advanced stages supporting the autonomy of the group will help students feel able to successfully complete the project.