The comparison of project and problem-based learning
27 teamwork, negotiation, and the use of problem-solving skills Woo, Herrington,
Agostinho, Reeves, 2007. The teacher acts as a facilitator to guide students to achieve their learning’s goals by giving support and guidance throughout the
learning process. Authentic activities are one of the main features of PBL as students have an
opportunity to connect to real world situations while completing their projects. Markham et al., 2003 A PBL project allows students to engage in authentic
situations and practices, for example, communication with people outside the classroom and using problem-solving, teamwork and critical thinking skills. They
have the opportunity to use other than their textbooks, they need to search and investigate their project through the use of other resources e.g. Internet, local
community, advertising materials, and verbal communication in the real world. Downes 2007 stresses that authentic learning typically focuses on real-
world, complex problems and their solutions, using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of
practice. The learning environments are inherently multidisciplinary. They are “not constructed in order to teach geometry or to teach philosophy. A learning
environment is similar to some ‘real world’ application or discipline: managing a city, building a house, flying an airplane, setting a budget, and solving a crime.
Reeves, Herrington, Oliver 2002 assert that learning researchers have distilled the essence of the authentic learning experience down to 10 design
elements, providing educators with a useful checklist that can be adapted to any subject matter domain. First, there should be real-world relevance which means
authentic activities match the real-world tasks of professionals in practice as nearly
28 as possible. Learning rises to the level of authenticity when it asks students to work
actively with abstract concepts, facts, and formulae inside a realistic —and highly
social —context mimicking “the ordinary practices of the [disciplinary] culture.
Second, ill-defined problem means that challenges cannot be solved easily by the application of an existing algorithm; instead, authentic activities are relatively
undefined and open to multiple interpretations, requiring students to identify for themselves the tasks and subtasks needed to complete the major task. Third, there
must be sustained investigation which means problems cannot be solved in a matter of minutes or even hours. Instead, authentic activities comprise complex tasks to be
investigated by students over a sustained period of time, requiring significant investment of time and intellectual resources. Fourth, the multiple sources and
perspectives meaning that learners are not given a list of resources. Authentic activities provide the opportunity for students to examine the task from a variety of
theoretical and practical perspectives, using a variety of resources, and requires students to distinguish relevant from irrelevant information in the process. Fifth,
there also should be collaboration which means success is not achievable by an individual learner working alone. Authentic activities make collaboration integral
to the task. Sixth, reflection metacognition meaning that authentic activities enable learners to make choices and reflect on their learning, both individually and
as a team or community. Seventh, the interdisciplinary perspective should also appear since relevance is not confined to a single domain or subject matter
specialization. Instead, authentic activities have consequences that extend beyond a particular discipline, encouraging students to adopt diverse roles and think in
interdisciplinary terms. Eighth there must be integrated assessment which means
29 assessment is not merely summative in authentic activities but is woven seamlessly
into the major task in a manner that reflects real-world evaluation processes. Ninth, there are polished products meaning that conclusions are not merely exercises or
substeps in preparation for something else. Authentic activities culminate in the creation of a whole product, valuable in its own right. The last, there should be
multiple interpretations and outcomes in which rather than yielding a single correct answer obtained by the application of rules and procedures, authentic activities
allow for diverse interpretations and competing solutions. It is clear that authentic tasks embedded in PBL have the potential to match
the real-world contexts. Challenging topics should encourage students to communicate meaningfully and purposefully. Students should have a chance to use
what they learnt from previous and present classes to communicate and provide ideas in real ways. Students should have opportunities to read and listen to valuable
sources of input and converse and interact with people outside the classroom. After going through a complex process of in-depth learning, students then should have
the opportunity to create authentic product that is directed towards their ultimate goal.