Project-based learning (PBL) through the incorporation of digital technologies: An evaluation based on the experience of serving teachers

In this article, we highlight the opinions given by teachers at different schools in Spain with regard to project-based learning (PBL). The teachers in question have been involved in various projects that incorporate digital technologies. Our data collection was based on a questionnaire that was constructed and validated by us. The questionnaire was applied to a sample of 310 teachers. The results obtained reveal a positive evaluation of this methodology. The majority of teachers indicated that the projects promoted active participation by students (95%), motivated them to learn (96%) and helped them to acquire various curricular skills (90%). Nevertheless, teachers found some difficulties in the implementation of PBL in schools. These included a lack of support from school management teams (33%) and inadequate provision of technological tools (34%), which impeded the carrying out of some tasks. Our inferential analyses revealed significant differences based on teachers' sex and years of experience with regard to the use of PBL methodology. Male teachers have more favourable opinions about school contextualization and the teacher's role (p < 0.05). Teachers with more years of experience have more favourable opinions for all variables (school contextualization, project characteristics, teacher's role, tools used, student's role, and results obtained). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.