Evaluating a Secondary Education Urban Ecology Project within the Framework of a Problem-Based Learning Methodology

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.

Peningkatan Motivasi Belajar Peserta Didik SMKS Bina Maritim Maumere melalui Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Problem Based Learning

“…Motivasi belajar memiliki poros penting dalam proses pembelajaran (Ansari, 2024;Ates, 2024;de Andrade Gomes, 2024;Arici, 2023;Yeung, 2023). Melalui motivasi yang tinggi membantu siswa untuk meraih prestasi yang optimal dalam belajar (Amin, 2023;Arruzza, 2023;Ayerbe-López, 2023;Connolly, 2023;Salvador, 2023). Sedangkan motivasi belajar yang rendah dapat menghambat siswa dalam mencapai hasil belajar yang memuaskan (Das, 2023;Peng, 2023;Puranik, 2023;Sharma, 2023;Uluçinar, 2023).…”

Landscape, Environmental Sustainability, and Climate Instability—The EDUSCAPE Project: University Research for Innovation in School Education

“…The methodology of the EDUSCAPE project is conceived as an interdisciplinary cooperation between actors and school subjects and is based on the teaching-learning model called project-based learning (PBL). This model, as made explicit in some recent theoretical/applicative studies also related to environmental education [23][24][25][26], assumes that the project stems from real, concrete questions and that it collaboratively involves students and teachers in problem-solving, decision-making, and in-depth activities. In this perspective, EDUSCAPE is currently producing materials for the DUs based on place-based methodologies which will be modified/adapted by teachers according to class and context (geographical, skills and competences, etc.).…”

Features of the development of ecological education and upbringing in the Republic of Armenia

“… Pure activism, or in other words, taking proenvironmental actions without undertaking appropriate reflection on what we do, why we do it, and for what purpose, prevents us from interpreting what is happening and being able to undertake future actions based on well-founded reasons [17]. The basis of state policy organization in the field of ecological education is the comprehensive state program of ecological education.…”