Explicit research skill development within problem/project based learning approach

Abstract

Problem/Project Based Learning is an innovative teaching model that proved to be effective in a number of disciplines. The common quality that is needed by students taught using this model, whether they are at school, vocational and training (VET) collage, undergraduate programs, and most importantly higher education degrees, is research skill development. However, the concept of skills development and how to do so is not usually clear from students' point of view, while from some educators' point of view such skills are acquired by osmosis through interaction with peers, seniors, or experienced researchers. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework by educators to conceptualize an explicit development of these skills as part of their course delivery. In this paper, we propose to utilize the strengths of RSD framework with problem/project-Based Learning (PBL) to result in explicit research development, which is usually a critical component of PBL model. Pilot studies in two universities were carried out, and improvements in the technical paper quality and research outputs have been observed.