Evaluating a Secondary Education Urban Ecology Project within the Framework of a Problem-Based Learning Methodology
Identificadores
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/84337Metadata
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Materia
Problem-based learning Environmental education Environmental problems Cooperative work SWOT Analysis Secondary education
Date
2023-09-08Referencia bibliográfica
Ayerbe-López, J.; Perales-Palacios, F.J. Evaluating a Secondary Education Urban Ecology Project within the Framework of a Problem-Based Learning Methodology. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 915. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090915
Abstract
As a reaction to the current situation of local and global environmental deterioration,
recent decades have seen the emergence of multiple educational strategies and methodologies
within Environmental Education (EE) with the aim of promoting pro-environmental attitudes among
young people. One of these strategies is Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and it is necessary to
analyze the didactic implications of this methodology in the field of EE in order to maximize its
effectiveness. This study evaluates the implementation and didactic implications of an environmental
project designed under the PBL methodology. The project was carried out over consecutive years
of compulsory secondary education (Grades 9 and 10) in two secondary schools in the province of
Granada, Spain. The data collection instruments used included the researcher’s diary, self-assessment
and reflection questionnaires for the participating students, and questionnaires and rubrics completed
by the audience during the presentation of the final product. The study employed a qualitative
interpretative approach, using response categorization and SWOT analyses, the results of which
revealed multiple conclusions, highlighting the high level of motivation, work and participation of
the students, as well as the didactic benefits of the enriching socialization of the project. Difficulties,
such as time management and cooperative group work, lack of practice in the methodology used
and challenges related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), were also
identified. Finally, recommendations are provided for the application of this methodology in other
educational contexts.