Impact of Project -based Learning on Students' Critical Thinking Skills in Kinematics in Mbale District, Uganda

Abstract

This study explored the influence of project-based learning (PBL) on students’ critical thinking skills. The participants were fifty 10th-grade students from a purposively selected school in Mbale District, Eastern Uganda. Participants were randomly distributed to the experimental and control groups using cluster sampling. A mixed-method research approach was adopted. The pretest-posttest non-equivalent quasi-experimental design was used. The experimental group used the PBL approach while the control group followed the conventional approach. A kinematics survey test with eight essay questions and focus group interview prompts were data collection tools. The questions were open-ended to adequately measure students' critical thinking skills in kinematics. The survey test was validated by experts and piloted (α=0.88). Data was analyzed using independent samples t-tests and effect size. Though both groups' mean scores increased, the independent sample t-test (t(50)=12.22, df.=48, p=0.00) revealed that students from the treatment group exhibited proficiency in critical thinking skills relative to their counterparts from the control group. Therefore, this study recommends that science educators should adopt PBL to improve students’ life and career skills.