Percepciones estudiantiles sobre el aprendizaje basado en proyectos durante la virtualidad

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 in March 2020 required educational decisions to ensure the continuity of students' education. In May of the same year, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education proposed an interdisciplinary curriculum approach for virtual education, which led teachers to implement Project Based Learning (PBL) in their classes. However, this decision was a response to a presidential decree, and it did not take into account the diverse perceptions of students, thus neglecting the constructivist perspective in Ecuadorian teaching during the period of confinement. The objective of this research is to analyze the students' perceptions about PBL applied during virtual education at the Unidad Educativa Fiscal Julio María Matovelle, in the city of Cuenca, from September 2020 to June 2021. This study used a quantitative methodology with a descriptive scope, a cross-sectional and retrospective design by applying a questionnaire to 128 students who were in the seventh grade during the pandemic and during the application of the questionnaire were already in the ninth grade. The main findings highlight that the students perceived a good organization through the projects, demonstrating that they were able to maintain spaces for interaction and virtual collaboration between classmates and teachers. However, they also experienced a lack of motivation when working with the PBL strategy and failed in achieving effective learning.