Term of Award

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Robert Lake

Committee Member 1

Dana McCullough

Committee Member 2

Ming Fang He

Committee Member 3

Sabrina Ross

Abstract

ABSTRACT

As educators, motivating students can be a difficult task.Sixteen eighth-grade students discuss their perceptions of what makes educational programs motivating. In teacher-centered classrooms, teachers lecture while their students take notes, quizzes, and tests and practice memorization skills in preparation for high-stakes testing. Is this a fair assessment of a student's knowledge, and does this type of instruction fulfill students’ needs for a successful future? Research for this case study focused on students' perceptions of an agricultural program that utilizes problem-based and project-based learning with a sustainability focus.

In problem-based learning (PBL) classes, students are given real-world problems and asked to come up with reasonable solutions. Instead of the teacher being the primary source of information, students work collaboratively to create realistic solutions. Then, students are asked to create models that show how they would solve the problem.

This qualitative case study, a real-world perspective, e.g., Stake, Yin, was conducted in a rural middle school in Southeast Georgia. Experiential learning theory was used as a theoretical framework. A group of sixteen eighth graders completed a questionnaire. Five of them also attended a group interview. All of the students involved in this study had attended this program in all three years of middle school. Themes created from their answers showed that thirteen of the sixteen students found PBL classes to be more motivational than normal teacher-centered classes. They also suggested that they learned more in this PBL class when compared to teacher-centered classes.

Theorists John Dewey (1956) and Paulo Freire (1970) discussed some of the negative issues found in teacher-centered learning long ago. Yet, teacher-centered, rote learning classes remain the norm in this era of standardized testing. The goal of this dissertation is to discuss themes in student perceptions and the researcher’s observations that coincide with these early theorists’ beliefs. As a teacher/ researcher, I hope that my research might help other teachers understand and implement effective, relevant learning experiences that motivate and liberate student potential through PBL.

OCLC Number

1521204215

Research Data and Supplementary Material

Yes

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