Beyond strategies and activities to promote literacy PBL brings to the table some unique benefits that contribute to learning. Paulo Blikstein of Stanford University noted a 25% increase in performance tasks when students explored materials prior to reading text or watching a video rather than after (as cited in Marshall, 2016, p. 87). Also, with the implement of PBL, students will find the content relevant when they seek to solve a problem they care about. This makes them more likely to stay engaged and apt to perform to high standards because of the public exhibition piece. Also the collaborative skills required to complete something of the problem or project-based magnitude bring learning to an all new level (Ross, 2012). Project and
…show more content…
As previously noted research regarding the validity of using PBL in speech and communication classrooms is limited, all of the benefits recorded prior are universal and are effective across disciplines. Pennel and Miles (2009) in their article regarding their Business Communications courses discussed one of the major parts of the PBL model was “Rhetoricity”. Throughout the blood drive project, the students attended to the full rhetorical situation: audience, purpose, genre, tone and style, effectiveness, document necessities and writer’s ethos (Pennell et al, 2009, p. 380). The rhetorical situation encouraged the students to elevate their expectations upon themselves and their peers, thus their presentations, visuals, writing showed sophistication that would not be seen by mere document assignments (Pennell et al, 2009, p. 383). This demonstrates at least one example of why this type of project is applicable in the speech and communication classroom. Two goals of public speaking and communication instruction are for the students to be able to cooperate in organizational settings, and the ability to speak and write persuasively and effectively, also valid reasons why PBL works in this …show more content…
Many of her initial hypotheses were supported by her study. Students in the PBL course of the study did prepare higher quality speeches than their control group counterparts. Topic choices, outlines, source selection and variety of sources, and attention getters were also significantly better than traditional classroom students. Engagement in the PBL classrooms were elevated, and both groups in the study exhibited a decreased anxiety about public speaking at the conclusion of the course (Ahlfeldt, 2004, p. 145-146). Some of her hypotheses were not supported however. Students in the PBL classrooms did not comprehend the content better than those in the traditionally taught classrooms. Test scores were used to judge this factor and both groups did equally as well (Ahlfeldt, 2004, p. 145). The study outlined in this dissertation had some limitations. The selection size was small and was only held at North Dakota University, and had multiple instructors across both studied groups allowing teaching styles to come into play. The non-holistic approach to PBL is likely more the issue with the study than the assumptions and limitations already accounted for by Ahlfeldt. First, testing is not typically a way understanding would be assessed in PBL, and PBL based content instruction is designed to go beyond mere
As previously noted research regarding the validity of using PBL in speech and communication classrooms is limited, all of the benefits recorded prior are universal and are effective across disciplines. Pennel and Miles (2009) in their article regarding their Business Communications courses discussed one of the major parts of the PBL model was “Rhetoricity”. Throughout the blood drive project, the students attended to the full rhetorical situation: audience, purpose, genre, tone and style, effectiveness, document necessities and writer’s ethos (Pennell et al, 2009, p. 380). The rhetorical situation encouraged the students to elevate their expectations upon themselves and their peers, thus their presentations, visuals, writing showed sophistication that would not be seen by mere document assignments (Pennell et al, 2009, p. 383). This demonstrates at least one example of why this type of project is applicable in the speech and communication classroom. Two goals of public speaking and communication instruction are for the students to be able to cooperate in organizational settings, and the ability to speak and write persuasively and effectively, also valid reasons why PBL works in this …show more content…
Many of her initial hypotheses were supported by her study. Students in the PBL course of the study did prepare higher quality speeches than their control group counterparts. Topic choices, outlines, source selection and variety of sources, and attention getters were also significantly better than traditional classroom students. Engagement in the PBL classrooms were elevated, and both groups in the study exhibited a decreased anxiety about public speaking at the conclusion of the course (Ahlfeldt, 2004, p. 145-146). Some of her hypotheses were not supported however. Students in the PBL classrooms did not comprehend the content better than those in the traditionally taught classrooms. Test scores were used to judge this factor and both groups did equally as well (Ahlfeldt, 2004, p. 145). The study outlined in this dissertation had some limitations. The selection size was small and was only held at North Dakota University, and had multiple instructors across both studied groups allowing teaching styles to come into play. The non-holistic approach to PBL is likely more the issue with the study than the assumptions and limitations already accounted for by Ahlfeldt. First, testing is not typically a way understanding would be assessed in PBL, and PBL based content instruction is designed to go beyond mere