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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland [Theme 4.]

Learning by Doing or Just Doing

Authors:

Mäntylä Heljä, Degree Programme Manager Haaga-Helia, Opistokuja 1, 06100 Porvoo helja.mantyla@haaga-helia.fi

Vennonen Helena, Senior Lecturer Haaga-Helia, Opistokuja 1, 06100 Porvoo helena.vennonen@haaga-helia.fi

Biography of the authors Mäntylä, Heljä

Degree Programme Manager

helja.mantyla@haaga-helia.fi

Born in Anjala 1953. Graduated from Inkeroisten

Yhteiskoulu 1972, Master of Science (econ.) in University of Tampere 1978, Russian Business Studies PD 1998, Jyamk.

Working experience:

Lounais-Häme Commercial College 1977, teacher Seinäjoki Commercial College 1978-1980, teacher Porvoo town 1980-1986, consumers’ adviser Porvoo Commercial College 1986-2000, lecturer

Helsinki Business Polytechnic 2000-2006, Programme Coordinator

Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences 2007- , Degree Programme Manager

As a lecturer H. Mäntylä is an experienced project leader, she has directed several domestic projects since 1988 and international projects since 1993. As Degree Programme Manager her main duty is to develop the curriculum of Finnish business programme in HH Porvoo.

Vennonen, Helena Senior Lecturer

helena.vennonen@haaga-helia.fi

Born in Alahärmä 1948, married, two adult sons

Education: Kokkolan yhteislyseo 1967, Master of Science (econ.) University of Tampere 1980, Russian Business Studies PD Jyamk 1998.

Working experience: Porvoo Commercial College 1974-1977, teacher Eastern Uusimaa Adult Education Centre 1979-1984, teacher

Helsinki Business College 1984-1985, teacher

Porvoo Commercial College 1985-2000, teacher and deputy principal 1987-1993 Helsinki Business Polytechnic 2000-2006, lecturer

Haaga-Helia 2007-, senior lecturer.

Project experience: domestic projects since 1988, international projects since 1993 Publications: Sponsorship of Arts and Culture in Eastern Uusimaa, 2007.

Hobbies: walking with the dog in forests, reading detective stories (Tony Hillerman as the favourite), gardening and painting, also regular visitor to concerts and the theatre.

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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study was to investigate the professional growth of Finnish business students who did different kinds of practical projects during their studies 2006-07.

Methodology - This study is based on a qualitative research method. The material was collected in November-December 2007 by interviewing 3rd year business students.

Findings – The central outcomes can be divided into five categories: connection to curriculum, students’ investigative role and opportunity to influence the theme of the project, students’ autonomy in working, connection to real life and project management from the school’s point of view.

Research limitations – The research was done with only one Finnish group of students; thus the results do not necessarily apply to other students in Haaga-Helia or elsewhere.

Practical implications - Universities of applied sciences do research and development work in close cooperation with working life and projects should be an elementary part in our curriculum.

Value – This research helps us to identify the critical points in planning and implementing projects in cooperation with working life.

Keywords

Project based learning – Project management – Professional growth – Regional cooperation.

1 Introduction

Universities of applied sciences do research and development work in close cooperation with working life, which provides these schools good opportunities to operate as the activators of regional development. Research and development work in these schools is, by nature, applied and practically oriented. The goal is to develop new practical applications, methods or solutions to problems. Development work is innovative and practical, and it focuses on creating new products, production processes and systems or improving existing ones.

Haaga-Helia participates actively in the regional development projects. The objective of such research and development activities is to improve the quality of teaching and serve the needs of working life. Research and development work focuses on the requirements set by working life and is professionally oriented thus also also enabling flexibility in meeting changes in the competence needs.

The operational area of Haaga-Helia Porvoo unit covers mainly Eastern Uusimaa but also, especially in tourism area, the entire Finland. The needs of the region as well as development plans and strategies form a firm basis for regional development activities and the influence of Haaga-Helia. There are about 1,000 students and degree programmes at the business and in tourism degree programmes, which provide tuiton in Finnish, Swedish.

The aim of this study was to investigate the professional growth of Finnish business students who did different kinds of practical projects during their studies 2006-07. The starting point was the first year students’ project, a marketing campaign for Roma Music Festival, in which the attitudes towards project work were quite negative. The authors are interested in students’ further experiences and attitudes. Have these attitudes changed now when the students have gained more experience? Have students learned to learn in practice? Are they now able to identify the learning process during the project? Is there any explanation to why the first experience was so negative? Does the theme of the project really matter? What is the impact of the management in the project and in learning process? Is it possible to use students in long-term cooperation with the local actors?

In this study our aim is to examine and explain the gains in students’ problem solving capabilities, gains in students’ understanding of how business life works and the changes in attitudes towards project based learning. This study covers only students in Finnish Degree Programme in Business Management, who started their studies in Porvoo in September 2005.

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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland 2 Project Based Learning in Theory

For over one hundred years, educators have reported on the benefits of experiential, hands-on and student-directed learning. Most business teachers, knowing the value of challenging projects for students, have planned field trips, local exhibitions, special events, marketing campaigns and interdisciplinary activities to enrich and extend the curriculum. "Doing projects" is a long-standing tradition in Finnish vocational education and often the projects have been run in co-operation with working life.

2.1 Definitions

Project-based learning has the focus on the students, providing them an opportunity for in-depth investigations of various topics. The students are also more autonomous in their learning.

According to Harris and Katz (2001; according to Grant 2001) project-based learning is an instructional method centred on the learner. Instead of using a rigid lesson plan that directs a learner down a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, project-based learning allows in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about.

Another definition states that project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects. According to various definitions found in PBL handbooks for teachers, projects are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, which involve students in design, problem-solving, decision making or investigative activities. Projects give students opportunities to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or presentations. (Jones, Rasmussen & Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller & Michaelson, 1999; according to Thomas 2000, 1.)

Other defining features found in the literature on the topic include authentic content, authentic assessment, teacher facilitation but not direction, explicit educational goals, (Moursund, 1999; according to Thomas 2000, 1), cooperative learning, reflection, and incorporation of adult skills (Diehl, Grobe, Lopez &Cabral, 1999; according to Thomas 2000, 1).

In order to capture the uniqueness of PBL the following set of criteria is offered. These criteria do not constitute a definition of PBL, but rather are designed to answer the question, "what must a project have in order to be considered an instance of PBL?" Thomas (2000, 3-4) describes the criteria as following:

1. PBL projects are central, not peripheral to the curriculum: projects are the curriculum. In PBL, the project is the central teaching strategy. Students encounter and learn the central concepts of the discipline via the project.

2. PBL projects are focused on questions or problems that "drive" students to face the central concepts and principles of a discipline. This criterion is a subtle one. The definition of the project must "be crafted in order to make a connection between activities and the underlying conceptual knowledge that one might hope to foster." (Barron, Schwartz, Vye, Moore, Petrosino, Zech, Bransford, & The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1998). This is usually done with a "driving question" (Blumenfeld et al., 1991) or an ill-defined problem (Stepien and Gallagher, 1993). 3. Projects involve students in a constructive investigation. An investigation is a goal-directed process that involves inquiry, knowledge building, and resolution. Investigations may be design, decision-making, problem-finding, problem-solving, discovery or model-building processes. In order to be considered as a PBL project, the central activities of the project must involve the transformation and construction of knowledge, new understandings and new skills on the part of students (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1999).

4. Projects are student-driven to some significant degree. Teachers do not lead PBL projects. PBL projects incorporate a good deal more student autonomy, choice, unsupervised working and responsibility than traditional instruction and traditional projects.

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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland

5. Projects are realistic, not school-like. Projects embody characteristics that give them a feeling of authenticity to students. These characteristics can include the topic, the tasks, the roles that students play, the context within which the work of the project is carried out, the collaborators who work with students on the project, the products that are produced and the audience for the project's products or the criteria by which the products or performances are judged. Gordon (1998) makes the distinction between academic challenges, scenario challenges and life challenges. PBL incorporates real-life challenges where the focus is on authentic problems or questions and where solutions have the potential to be implemented.

2.2 Research on Project-Based Learning

According to Thomas’ (2000, 8) research on PBL can take several forms. Research can be taken to (a) make judgements about the effectiveness of PBL (summative evaluation)

(b) assess or describe the degree of success associated with implementation or enactment of PBL (formative evaluation)

(c) assess role of student characteristic factors in PBL effectiveness or appropriateness (aptitude-treatment interactions)

(d) test some proposed feature or modification of PBL (intervention research).

According to H. Kotila, growing into an expert requires strong theoretical grounds and strong social skills. To be able to operate successfully in academic projects the students should have

- enough theoretical knowledge and skills to find new knowledge - initiative and social skills

- metacognitive skills

- commitment to vocational growth and working in a project together with other students (Kotila 2002, 98-99)

A student might have the worker’s role in a project if he only works according to orders. This kind of work doesn’t contribute to the student’s vocational growth. The student can also have more autonomy and work as a younger colleague. There is still need for teachers tutoring and controlling but the student is also able to make independent decisions. In the most challenging case the student might work as an equal colleague. This demands that the student has already very good theoretical and practical skills and that his/her metacognitive skills are on good level. (Kotila 2002, 105-106)

Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik & Soloway (1997; according to Thomas 2000, 24-25) list teachers’ implementation problems as follows:

1. Time. Projects often take longer than anticipated.

2. Classroom management. Teachers must balance the need to allow students to work on their own with the need to maintain order.

3. Control. Teachers often need to control the flow of information while at the same time believing that students’ understanding requires that they build their own understanding.

4. Support of students learning. Teachers have difficulty scaffolding students’ activities, sometimes giving them too much independence or too little modelling and feedback.

5. Technology use. Teachers have difficulty incorporating technology into the classroom.

6. Assessment. Teachers have difficulty designing assessments that require students to demonstrate their understanding.

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Table 1 shows how the critical points listed above were implemented in our projects

PROJECT TIME CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT CONTROL

Roma Music Festival

Spring semester 2006 8 weeks 2 cu Lectures Independent working Workshops Presentations

Control during the classroom meetings Guiding sessions

Plenary session

Arts and Culture Consumers Market research Fall semester 2006 16 weeks 6 cu Lectures Independent working Workshops Presentations

Control during the classroom meetings Guiding sessions

Teeviit

Education fair in Tallinn

Planning time weeks 36-47 5 x 4 h + students own work +

work at the exhibition 26.11.-2.12.2007 After Sales and reports weeks 50-51/2007 Counted 80 h work/ student

Instructions and control in classroom 5 x 4 h

Teams were prepared to tell, what they had done

Independent work under the control of team leader

Control during the classroom meetings and at the exhibition. Impossible to control all individuals independent working

Norway

Market Research

Lectures and planning weeks 36-43 in Norway week 45

Report and conclusions weeks 46-51

Lectures

Independent working Presentations

Meetings with teacher/ advisor Reports and final report with conclusions

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PROJECT SUPPORT TO STUDENTS TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Roma Music Festival

IT-teacher’s support Guiding sessions Giving theory base

Power Point Emails

Teacher and self assessment, Principals’ assessment

Arts and Culture Consumers Market research

Guiding sessions Giving theory base

Interviewing help from teachers

SPSS Word Emails Teachers’ assessment Teeviit Education Fair in Tallinn Guiding sessions

Visit to Suomen Messut company where they attended lessons, how to plan a stand

how to behave in exhibition

Students had enough knowledge in IT,

technical solutions in the stand were difficult to fulfil

Group assessment

Individual self assessment => teacher’s assessment

Norway

Market Research

Basic material, guidance

giving theory base

Power Point emails

internet booking

searching for information

Written exam Report

Assessment of planning and fulfilling plans in Norway

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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland 3 Short Descriptions of Projects

3.1 12th International Roma Music Festival, a marketing campaign

The marketing project for the 12th International Roma Music Festival was part (35%) of a compulsory marketing course (6 cu). In spring 2006 it was the first time when all first-year students did a major real life project as part of their basic marketing studies. The aim of the project was to produce advertisements and other marketing materials for the festival, to sell festival tickets to companies and to write press releases and other PR material.

The group size was 65 students. The students were divided into three kinds of groups and they chose a topic from the list above. The advertising groups were competing with each other and the best idea for an ad and flyer was chosen for the festival.

3.2 Arts and Culture Consumption in Eastern Uusimaa, a market research

The market research course (6 cu) is a compulsory second-year course in which the students always plan and implement a real life market research. In autumn 2006 the topic was arts and culture consumption in Eastern Uusimaa. The aim of the study was to find out what citizens in ten municipalities in Eastern Uusimaa thought of the supply of culture in their own area, its quality and quantity. What kinds of expectations do they have on the supply of culture. How much do they visit culture events and what kind of events and where? Which age groups visit events the most?

This study was done as a quantitative study and the respondents were interviewed by students. The sample size was 1,462.

3.4 Doing Business in the Baltic Sea Region 3.4.1 Teeviit

Teeviit project made up 50 % of the compulsory third-year course called Doing Business in the Baltic Sea Region. The students first familiarized themselves first with the theoretical background of international business and with business in the Baltic Countries, solved some business cases and wrote an exam. In the beginning of the course students began to plan a real-life project implemented in Estonia. In the year 2007 the project was participation in the Teeviit education fair in Tallinn. The aim of the project was to sell Haaga-Helia’s education services to young Estonians.

As learning outcomes of the project the students are able to plan and execute a real life project and they understand the importance of planning, co-operation and communication. The students are able to work customer-orientedly in the project and take personal responsibility and keep time-tables. Teams distributed work fairly under teacher’s control and students also voted for the project leader. The whole group worked in the exhibition for three days. As result from the exhibition students obtained some 200 contacts with potential applicants interested in studying at Haaga-Helia.

Norway as Target Market

The Norway project was a part of the course Doing Business in the Baltic Sea Region (6 cu) intended for the students studying their 3rd year in Haaga-Helia Porvoo. At the beginning of the course, there were lectures on Scandinavian business and a written exam.

The aim of the project was to make a market research focusing on the Norwegian marketing environment, especially on the economic and cultural environments. To some extent, the group wanted also to consider business possibilities of Finnish companies in Norway and to learn how to get new business contacts.

The ideas and results field research were shown in the final report which the teams wrote together after the trip. The assessment made by the advisor based on the contents of the final report of the students and her personal observation concerning the way in which the students planned and carried out their plans.

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Table 2 shows the main features of the projects where the research groups have participated.

PROJECT Students/teachers Credits CONNECTION TO CURRICULUM CENTRAL CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES STUDENTS INVESTIGATIVE ROLE STUDENTS AUTONOMY CONNECTION TO REAL LIFE

Roma Music Festival 70/1,5

6/2 cu

Basics of Marketing compulsory for 1st year students Market communication Selling Advertising Teamwork How to make marketing material How to sell and get sponsors

To plan posters and flyers, to find sponsors and to sell tickets in teams

Autonomy in planning

Roma Music Festival in Porvoo in September 2006

posters, flyers, press conference, sponsors, selling tickets

Arts and Culture Consumers 45/3

6 cu

Quantitative Market Research

compulsory for 2nd year students Market research Quantitative res. Consumer satisfaction and needs How to plan a questionnaire How to interview How to report the results

Work under teachers’ control

Autonomy in writing the reports

Results published and used by cultural companies and municipal organisations Teeviit Exhibition 15/1 6/3 cu

Doing Business in the Baltic Sea Region compulsory for 3rd year students of foreign trade

Fairs International co-operation Arrangements in a fair Personal selling Leadership

How to sell services to Estonia, how to make marketing, how to organise the team

Project manager as the leader (student) Budget responsibility Team leaders’ responsibility Teacher as mentor Students represented HH in Teeviit education fair in Estonia 200 contacts Norway Market Research 11/1 6/3 cu

Doing Business in the Baltic Sea Region compulsory for 3rd year students of foreign trade

Business negotiations market analysis field research travel management

How to get market information from Norway

How to get contacts

Team leaders and teams Teacher as mentor

Appointments with Norwegian companies, travel arrangements

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4. Research: How the Students Feel about Projects 4.1. Method

This study is based on qualitative research method. The material was collected in November-December 2007 by interviewing 3rd year business students. Mäntylä H. interviewed 14 students in three different groups during the breaks in Teeviit-exhibition in Tallinn, Estonia. Vennonen H. interviewed two groups of students in Porvoo. In her first group there were three students from financial management program and in second group five students from international trade program, just back home from Norway, where the students had made their market research. The interviews lasted approximately one hour each and they were based on the topics prepared by the interviewers. The students discussed freely their project experiences during their studies and they seemed to be pleased of the opportunity to reflect and give recommendations.

The objectivity of the study is based on the amount of the students interviewed. In five groups 22 students were free to express their opinions. Two interviewers double-checked the results in order to avoid misunderstandings and as the results were very much similar in both groups, so we can conclude that the research is reliable. The results do not necessarily imply on other students in Haaga-Helia or elsewhere. On the other hand the opinions of the students in financial management program lacking third year’s project were parallel to the others. The validity of the study is ascertained in the interviews by using themes based and project based learning theories. International researchers have received similar results.

4.2 Student Experiences in Roma Music Festival Project

In spring term 2007 business student Eteläinen V. wrote her bachelor’s thesis on how to develop collaboration between Haaga-Helia Porvoo unit and the local producers of cultural events. The main objective of her thesis was to study the implementation of the 12th International Roma Music Festival marketing project.

Students who had participated in the project responded to inquiries. Teachers and the producers of the festival as well as one group of students were interviewed.

The results indicate that the collaboration was satisfactory in general, but in students’ point of view the project was not that successful. Many problems were outlined in the study. Firstly, some of the students were dissatisfied with the topic. They felt unfamiliar with Roma music and Roma culture. Secondly, students felt that there was a lack of more advanced computer literacy, like graphics and manipulating pictures. Thirdly, students needed more tutoring. They felt incompetent, and disliked the real challenge and the responsibility of a real case. Students also felt that they did not get enough support for the tasks or the support was not even-handed. Especially they felt that in selling and in computer skills they needed more help than they could get. Many students complained about the project and they argued that they had learned nothing during it. Fourthly, students complained about the unequal distribution of assignments.

However, a minority of the students (35%) liked the project and they were very proud and content with the learning experience. Their attitudes towards the topic were not so negative and they found that working under pressure with a real assignment made them more efficient. These students wanted to work on real challenges in the future, too.

The organisers of the festival were content with the results of the students’ achievements and wanted to continue the cooperation.

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March 5th-7th, 2008, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland 4.3 Study Results

4.3.1 Investigative Role and Autonomy of the Students

The first set of issues discussed with the students was their possibilities to effect on the project design and realization of projects.

During the first year’s Roma Music project some of the students could be creative and develop and sketch their ideas freely and get feedback especially in the teams preparing marketing material. Also the students, who worked on media contacts said, that they had possibilities to influence on the project. These students had the role of a younger colleague while working with advertisements and communication. Some students, especially the members in selling teams, commented that they did not have enough tasks to complete and they did not get enough guidance or motivation to the work, they felt like workers in the project.

The second year’s market research project, i.e. Arts and Culture Consumption in Eastern Uusimaa, was regarded mainly as assignment that gave an overall view of how to do a research, but student’s own creative contribution was small. The students understood of course, that the project was a part of a bigger entity and that their input in the project design could not be that significant.

“Doing was more important than learning. We only did, what we were told to do.” The students were discontented with their impact on the questionnaire. The conception of this matter varied from group to group. Some groups felt that they had an influence on the questionnaire and that their opinion was valued, but some students felt, that the teachers had dictated the contents of it. One of the groups formed to conduct the research found that the questionnaire had been made by the customer. This group complained the lack of possibility to prepare relevant questions and to make the questionnaire. The role of the students was the one of the workers.

In second-year market research project students could choose the team they worked in and also in which municipality in Eastern Uusimaa they collected the information. Yet the distribution of work was regarded unfair, because the choice of municipalities was made mainly by viva-voce vote and the loudest and quickest teams thus picked the easiest areas.

Both third year projects, i.e. the Teeviit exhibition in Estonia and market analysis in Norway, gained common approval among the students. Students said they were able to work independently and they were fully responsible for the success of the projects. The prevailing opinion was that the more responsibility and influence the students had, the better their motivation was and the better the chances are for the project to succeed. Motivated students work efficiently. In these two projects the students were in the role of younger colleagues and experts.

4.3.2 Classroom Management and Control

In most of the projects the students could freely choose their own team and to some extent also the tasks. Students also had possibilities to affect the realization of the project by scheduling and distributing their own work.

The main problem in team working was to keep the schedules. Some groups emphasised, that teachers should have stressed the importance of time more and that the teachers also should have controlled the use of it. All groups noticed, that they had started real work too late and that they completed the tasks in a hurry and that there always was panic in the end.

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Students sometimes had difficulties in sharing the tasks and responsibilities. Every team member was responsible joint and severally for the work and all the team members got same course grade, even though some students worked more than others. Some students wanted to put the finishing touches to the work in order to get a fine result and top grades, but others were satisfied with more modest outcome. The distribution of work was uneven, even though it was meant to be balanced and fair. Also the free riders caused conflicts; other team members tried to motivate and understand these students, but sometimes the situation was too difficult to handle and the team had to turn to the teacher in order to get help. Some groups had no problems what so ever, because the members knew each other well and were used to work together.

While working, the students should be able to consult the teacher immediately when problems arise. If the students don’t get the comments and answers directly, it is sometimes difficult or even impossible to go on with the work and the whole schedule is in danger.

Sometimes there were difficulties between the teams. Once the team responsible for posting the questionnaires did not take care of it, and the whole project was nearly ruined. The communication flow between the teams must be secured. The better use of Blackboard and group-e-mails could be the answer. According to students’ opinion also regular meetings with the whole project group could prevent these problems. At compulsory meetings it would be easier to control that every team has worked properly. Even though the project was supposed to be done during the lessons, this problem in communication flow was due to absenteeism. The distribution of work was was regarded uneven, and the students wished that this problem should be examined carefully by the teachers.

Students wished that the span of control should be smaller in the future. If there were 30 students in the project group, there should be at least two teachers working along and they should be able to cooperate together. The project organisation could be constructed in a way that every section is lead by a specialised teacher, e.g. communication and selling.

Students took for granted, that teachers have an encouraging and supportive approach to the projects. The mutual understanding, cooperation and distribution of work between the teachers affect fundamentally to the success of the project. Teachers giving contradictory orders and advice have an impact on students’ motivation and eagerness to learn.

4.3.3 Project Connection to Curriculum

The students were unanimous in their views about compulsory projects: All business students must take part in at least one practical project. There should be compulsory project-based studies every year and free choice projects as well. The compulsory nature of project studies was emphasised. Many students felt, that they would have taken neither Roma Music nor Arts and Culture project in their programme. As one student said:

“I would have dropped after two weeks, because the work load was huge and the start of the project so “chaotic”.

Afterwards students have found out that the projects taught them a lot, and they want future students to have same possibilities. At first projects could be mainly for the school’s internal use because the students would not then face the must-win situation so badly. For the first-year students everything is so new and they still have so little experience, and therefore outside assignments frighten them.

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However, one group had different views. These students felt that they were trained to step into the business world, and it was fine to have an opportunity to start in earnest the real life projects at the very beginning of the studies. The group which took care of Roma Music media contacts noticed, that

“It might be a good idea to blow up the whole thing in front of one’s eyes immediately. One gets under pressure and finds out what the reality means.”

“The assignments from outside are favourable, because one has the feeling of being useful, and the tasks are performed for real.”

An assignment meant more input, the work was more careful than in ordinary exercises, because somebody evaluated the results in earnest. Such assignments had clear goals and it meant clear progress for the project. Compulsory participation in real life projects toughens students up.

“You’d liked it or not, you’d do your best, because an outsider will be the judge.”

Some students criticised the assignments because they were sometimes so far completed, that the students only were left with routine tasks. However, students considered the outside assignments for the best of projects, as they motivate and offer great possibilities to learn.

The students pointed out that the theoretical base must be sufficient before the practical project is initiated. They did not like the idea to learn along the project. The students wanted to be sure that they did right things in the right order from the very beginning.

4.3.4 Central Concepts and Principles Learned

Above all, the students have learned project management, team working and leadership. Crucial factors such as planning and keeping timetables, communication, cooperation and trust between the team members and teams were mentioned in particular. These things are important in order to work efficiently. Good team was the most important factor and the meaning of clear project organisation was recognised.

“It would be really awful if the group wouldn’t cooperate.”

The students learned how the relationships between persons function in a group. They also learned new features in their own behaviour and personality. Somebody, to his/her own astonishment was willing to lead the team and somebody else realised that the role of a single handed expert suited him/her better than leading.

According to students’ experiences the leader of projects and teams has become important. There must be somebody in every team who, in the end, says what is to be done and how. The leader needs good organising skills and lots of motivation. The leader can be elected or someone can emerge to that position because of his/her natural qualities.

“I have learned what it means to be a leader, I have learned how hard work it is really. Earlier it was easy just to criticise, but now as a project leader I can’t just criticise, because I’m responsible for the smoothness of the working. I have learned to delegate, to give orders and importance of the internal communication and project timetable.”

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The students have also perceived that every now and then there was somebody in the team who is not that motivated and did not complete the tasks. Third year students, having been involved in many projects, stated that free riders should not be tolerated in teams. They should be excluded from the team even though they are fellow students and sometimes even friends.

A common opinion was that it is easy to learn efficiently while working in a project. Many students had learned completely new skills like the use of the Photoshop program, when marketing the Roma Music event. They have also learned to report, to discuss, to reason and to give and take feedback.

“By doing you’ll learn hundred times more than just in lessons. Think now of this exhibition project, what would we have learned about it in the class!”

The students have also observed that the attitudes change when experience grows. Students noticed that the Roma Music project now is a very good project idea, even though they, at the beginning of their, studies considered both the project and gipsies odd.

“If it were possible to work on Roma Music marketing now, the results would be much better!”

“It felt good that the work was real and the results of it were published. It inspired me!” During the projects students were encouraged to contact foreign people and new companies. Students also learned to develop their ideas in spite of their prejudices.

4.3.5 Project Feedback and Evaluation

The most important criteria for the evaluation must be the students’ own performance of duties and the final outcome of the project. The learning during the project must be valued as high as or even higher than the outcome. The students wished that teachers would pay attention to the process and to the learning possibilities during it.

“The project works or flops… we’ll learn something anyway.”

Constructive criticism makes learning possible and positive feedback motivates to carry on. If the criticism is very negative, the students have difficulties to continue with the work. Teachers should highlight the issues in the project that are clearly connected to the studies and in which students’ skills can be used directly. Teachers should help the students to notice to issues, where the learning of new things is possible.

The general criteria for evaluation should be clear to all participants in a project. The students would like to hear the reasoning for the evaluation personally, if possible. It is important to know exactly what the strong and weak points in the project are. The feedback helps the student to improve the performance of the duties.

The students wondered how teachers can evaluate a single student’s contribution to a project team. The team usually gets the same grade, even though some team members always do more than others. Some groups discussed whether a common grade was fair or not.

The feedback and evaluation from the principal seemed to be of great interest and even frightening. Students wondered whether an outsider could pick up the best ideas and help them to

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contribute a top performance. The outsider could help the students to distinguish the ideas significant to real life. On the other hand students were afraid that perhaps the outsider would not remember that the students were just students learning, not experts.

In Roma Music plenary session the representatives of the festival gave constructive criticism and approving feedback to all teams and students really appreciated it. Especially the teams preparing marketing material said that the feedback felt good even though somebody else’s idea for posters and flyers was selected and later printed. It was interesting to hear the comments of a real graphic designer, when she pointed out the strong and weak sides in the teams’ rough drafts. The students admitted though that it was hard to stand there and receive the criticism. Members of the media teams were satisfied when the press referred to their texts in press releases and they saw their own photos in newspapers. Also the Arts and Culture market research was noticed in media and the results were commented in all local newspapers and in local radios.

“It was good that we managed to attract the interest of media.”

Inside the teams and between teams the skill to give feedback develop year by year as more experience is gained. During the first projects the team members were gentle when giving peer feedback, but now as third-year students they had more realistic attitudes. At the beginning of their studies the students were not acquainted to each other and did not know how to express criticism, neither did they know how the others received it.

“In the beginning everybody was more careful, but now I dare to say straight out what I think.”

Giving the actual marks is mainly the teachers’ task. Students pondered that the teacher is more capable to evaluate the whole project as a process whereas the principal might evaluate only the results and forget the essence of the learning process. On the other hand some of the students stressed the importance of the principal participating in the evaluation.

4.3.6 Students’ Suggestions for Development of the Projects

The students pondered that projects should be a good mixture of theory and practise. Students wanted to have more background information before the actual work starts. Good preparations and background information affect attitudes and motivation and it is easier for the students to understand what is to be done and why.

The theme of the project has relevance for the learning and motivation. If the theme is very dull, it does not inspire to work.

For the further success of the projects it is important that students can choose their tasks and groups to some extent. Most of the students liked to work in a group of their own choice, because in a group where everybody knew each other already, working was easy and efficient. Some students considered the random groups challenging and wanted to improve their social skills and make new friends, too.

The project organisation must be well-defined and every group must have own responsibilities and every student his/her own tasks. The distribution of tasks should not be based on voice vote. The sizing of the projects should be fair in credit units.

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The projects could become increasingly difficult so that, at the end of the studies, the project would demand full use of students’ skills and expertise, as was the case in the projects carried out in Estonia and Norway in autumn 2007. Students thought that the exhibition project was the most useful one for their future working life. Cooperation with the companies could be even more active, because the students felt that they had obtained useful contacts with the business world. Project studies could be arranged so that students could carry out the assignments during schooldays, because most of the students work in evenings and at week-ends. Students were eager to do more projects for money or for credit units. Also students specialising in financial management wanted to have more project studies. The students specialising in international business and marketing considered the projects extremely important to their learning. They thought international projects the best ones, forcing students to go out into the real world, and face real conditions.

5. Conclusions

The results of this study show that the experiences and attitudes towards PBL are similar to results obtained in previous studies. As a conclusion we present the main findings which we have to take into account while planning and implementing project based learning in the future. Projects have to be part of compulsory studies; there has to be at least one project connected to core studies every academic year. Free choice studies are too easy to drop, when student feels there is too much work compared to normal courses.

It is extremely important to explain to students the aims of the project and the desired learning outcomes in order to avoid the feeling that a project is “just doing”. Students have to understand the theoretical background behind the project and the connection between theory and real life. They have to understand the meaning of the project and what they are supposed to learn. If extra technical and theoretical or practical help is needed, students should have access to such. Problems with inadequate skills of students cause negative attitudes very quickly. The assessment of the projects must be done as self-assessment, team assessment, teacher’s assessment and, if possible, also as partners’ feedback.

If students are allowed to influence the topics of the projects, it results in more positive attitudes towards working. Especially in first-year projects students should have the decision maker’s role in choosing the topic. Later on it is more important that students can plan, find problems and make decisions in the project where the topic might be given, as is usually the case in working life. Students’ autonomy in decision making and their own responsibility will influence the attitudes.

Projects in Haaga-Helia must have connection to real life from the very beginning. First-year projects might be implemented within the school in co-operation with local actors. Later on the projects should be assignments for companies and organisations. Partners commissioning projects motivate students to work harder and students also find the outsider’s feedback valuable and motivating.

Project management is elementary from the school’s point of view. There must be enough resources for the teachers to plan and implement a project and projects have to fit the schedule without disturbing other courses. In case the project needs more technical support, for example, there should be resources for it. There must be enough time and possibilities for co-operation between teachers, partners and students.

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The school needs partners who can offer ideas for projects. There could be both regularly repeated and changing themes of projects. In the ideal situation the school has permanent partners who can offer project co-operation yearly. In addition the students can plan the themes of smaller projects.

This study shows that the attitudes of the students have become more positive during their studies. Students have learned to handle the “mess and chaos” at the beginning of the project, their theoretical knowledge and practical skills are better than they were at the beginning of the studies, and students are ready to take responsibility for themselves and for the team. Students also understand the significance of project work skills for their future careers.

References

Barron, B.J.S., Schwartz, D.L., Vye, N.J. Moore, A., Petrosino, A., Zech, L., Bransford, J.D. & The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1998). Doing with understanding: Lessons from research on problem- and project-based learning. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7, 274.

Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. (1999). Process and product in PBL research. Toronto: Ontario Institutes for Studies in Education/University of Toronto.

Blumenfield, P., Soloway, E., Marx, R., Krajcik, J., Guzdial, M. & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist. 26(3&4), 369, 398.

Diehl, W., Grobe, T., Lopez, H. & Cabral, C. (1999). Project-based learning: A strategy for teaching and learning. Boston, MA: Center for Youth Development and Education, Corporation for Business, Work and Learning.

Gordon, R. (1998). Balancing real-world problems with real.world results. Phi Delta Kappan, 390-393.

Grant, M.M. (2002). Getting a grip on project based learning: Theory, cases and recommendations. Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal, 5, 1. http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/win2002/514/. (January 30th, 2008).

Harris, J.H. & Katz, L.G. (2001). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years. In Harel, I. & Papert, S. (Eds.). (1991). Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Jones, B.F., Rasmussen, C.M. & Moffitt, M.C. (1997). Real-life problem solving: A collaborative approach to interdisciplinary learning. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Kotila, H. , toim. (2003) Ammattikorkeakoulupedogogiikka

Marx, R.W., Blumenfield, P.C., Krajcik, J.S. & Soloway, E. (1997). Enacting project-based science: Challenges for practice and policy. Elementary School Journal, 97, 341-358.

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Stepien, W. & Gallagher, S. (1993). Problem-based learning: As authentic as it gets. Educational Leadership, 51, 25-28.

Thomas, J.W. (2000). A Review of Research on Project-based Learning. http://www.autodesk.com/foundation. (December 18th, 2007).

Thomas, J.W. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2000). Managing project-based learning: Principles from the field. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.

References

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