Online project-based learning for teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

Abstract

Online project-based learning (PjBL) is an increasingly popular teaching approach in higher education, especially in teacher education. Implementing online PjBL differs across subjects, bringing many benefits while posing challenges for educators and pre-service teachers. This systematic review aims to investigate the implementation, effectiveness and challenges of adopting PjBL in teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review provided a thorough overview of research on PjBL in teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was carried out using the systematic review methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Several relevant articles from five different databases (Google Scholar, Mendeley, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Taylor & Francis Online) were collected using the keywords “project-based learning” and “teacher education” along with their synonyms. A final list of 26 included articles to be reviewed in this study is produced after the titles and abstracts screening and full texts evaluation using inclusion and exclusion criteria. This systematic review reveals that PjBL has been applied in teaching various subjects in teacher education with different types of projects and assessment methods. More importantly, integrating PjBL in teaching has been proven to positively impact the development of pre-service teachers’ knowledge, professional skills and learning attitudes. In addition, applying PjBL poses certain challenges for educators due to the requirements on teachers’ and students’ knowledge and skills as well as equipment and technology facilities. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic, if viewed positively, contributes to boosting educators’ motivation and facilitating the implementation of online PjBL. The study findings can be used as a reference for future PjBL research and contribute to the literature on PjBL in the context of teacher education.

The influence of online education on pre-service teachers’ academic experiences at a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates

“…Numerous research studies have found the engagement and motivation of pre-service teachers to be significantly impacted by online education. Uyen et al (2023) found that the incorporation of online project-based learning into teacher education during the pandemic positively affected how pre-service teachers developed their knowledge, professional abilities, and learning attitudes. However, it also presented difficulties for educators, such as the need for teachers and students to possess the necessary knowledge and abilities and access to facilities and technology.…”

“…Lemay et al (2021) assert that pre-service teachers have benefited significantly from this flexibility because they frequently have other obligations, such as part-time work or family responsibilities, which online learning can help them to manage efficiently. Moreover, by fostering ownership and motivation, the flexibility and autonomy of online courses has helped pre-service teachers to engage in effective self-directed learning (Uyen et al, 2023).…”

“…Understanding faculty's readiness and providing them with the required training and resources, along with effective assessment and feedback, are crucial for the transition to high-quality online teacher education programs (Cutri et al, 2020;Joshi et al, 2020). Online education significantly involves pre-service teachers' engagement and motivation (Uyen et al, 2023). Finally, factors including age, employment status, gender, and marital status can affect online academic experiences (Chen et al, 2021;She et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2022).…”

An Entrepreneurial Skills Model for Project-Based Learning in Programming

“…This study investigates the influence of Project-based Learning (PjBL) on the instruction of entrepreneurship and technology. It specifically references the research conducted by Yustina et al [4], Uyen et al [5], and Roslina et al [6], which emphasized the efficacy of PjBL in fostering critical and creative abilities.…”