Education experts from the University of Southern Australia are encouraging schools to consider problems based on problems (PBL) in a movement to improve commitment and creativity among high school students.
The call follows the new data of the Productivity Commission that show that the national school assistance rates during the past year have decreased from 88.8% in the year 7 to 84% in the year 10. Government schools are worse, with only 73% of the students of the public school that completed the year 12, compared to almost 80% in 2017.
Unisa’s new research demonstrates how community -based practical projects can offer successful learning results for disconnected students.
Specifically, the study showed that when students:
- participate in practical projects, they are more likely to complete their studies
- Feeling empowered in your learning, your trust and motivation improve
- They contribute to their communities, they see greater value and meaning to the tasks in which they participate.
Researchers say that the findings present alternative support to the interventions described in the investment of $ 48 million of the Government of Southern Australia for disconnected high school students.
Using a problem -based learning model, Year 13 disconnected design and technology students investigated, planned and built a recess patio for a low -income school.
Dr. Chris Chimwayang de Unisa says that by linking learning with a real life challenge, the project demonstrated how its academic content is applied within its community.
“Up to 20% of Australia students and 25 to 30% in New Zealand fight with the disconnection of the school, which is often due to the courses that lack real world application,” says Dr. Chimwayange.
“When observing teaching and learning practices differently, we can find alternatives that can help students who do not commit to the typical curriculum or who can be sliding through cracks.
“Here, we seek to create a project and an environment that will empower students through learning and project -based service to their community.
“Through this approach, the students learned to establish attainable objectives for their project, carried out market research to understand existing solutions and identify potential needs, and explored a wide range of design options to reach the best possible solution for the community.
“By giving students the choice and autonomy about their learning process, they not only increased their critical thinking, trust and self -esteem, but also their collaboration, teamwork and leadership.
“They also learned how to respect their perspectives respectfully, how to evaluate contributions without knocking us out and how they can positively contribute to their local community.”
Surprisingly, the project revived the passion for learning among previously disconnected students, helping them successfully complete their courses.
Dr. Chimwayang says that while this project focused on design and technology skills, the same principles can be applied in other disciplines.
“We firmly believe that disconnected students will participate more in learning if they can see how they relate to the real world, how they can help their communities and when they are given the opportunity to make their own decisions,” says Dr. Chimwayang.
“With the disconnection of the increasing student, it is time to rethink traditional learning. We encourage educators and in charge of formulating policies to explore problems based on problems such as a solution to reduce commitment.”