Empowering collaboration in project-based learning using a scripted environment: lessons learned from analysing instructors’ needs

ABSTRACT

Project-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach that many higher education programmes have incorporated. In PBL, students work in a team or group on a specific project for an extended period of time facilitated by an instructor. Previous studies have identified group work collaboration as a key challenge in PBL. To address this, the authors take inspiration from the computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) field by proposing a scripted CSCL environment called the Project-Based Learning ActIvity Designer (PBL-AID). Design-based research (DBR) was utilised as the methodological framework during the iterative stages of developing this environment. An empirical study of the first iteration of the DBR process was carried out, with the aim to explore and investigate instructors’ perceptions and technological needs. A mixed-methods approach was used in the evaluation. Findings indicate positive feedback for the PBL-AID environment in general, although there is room for further improvements.

KEYWORDS:

• Project based-learning
• CSCL scripts
• collaboration
• Design-based research
• technology enhanced-learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

The first author would like to acknowledge financial support from Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, which enables her to carry out her PhD research project at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Notes on contributors

Nada M. Alharbi

Nada M. Alharbi is a PhD candidate in Information Technology at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her research interest is in technology-enhanced learning, and her PhD work focuses on enhancing collaboration within a project-based learning environment by developing and incorporating technological solutions. She received her Master degree in Information Technology from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. She previously worked as a teaching assistant at Taibah University, Saudi Arabia.

Rukshan I. Athauda

Rukshan I. Athauda received his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Science from Florida International University, U.S.A. He is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He previously worked at Microsoft Corporation, U.S.A, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Sri Lanka, and also as a visiting academic at Moratuwa University, Sri Lanka. His research interests include ICT education, database systems, cloud computing and ICT security. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers internationally.

Raymond Chiong

Raymond Chiong received his MSc degree from the University of Birmingham, UK, and his PhD degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He is also a Guest Research Professor with the Centre for Modern Information Management at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, and a visiting scholar with the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His research interests include evolutionary game theory, optimisation, big data analytics, modelling of complex adaptive systems and technology-enhanced learning. He has published over 140 papers in these areas. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Systems and Information Technology, an editor of Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence and an associate editor of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine.