RESEARCH PAPER
The perceived impact of PBL program learning on shifting prospective teachers’ beliefs: A case study in China
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1
Mathematics and Science College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, CHINA
2
Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, CHINA
Publication date: 2022-12-08
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2022;18(12):em2195
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
As an important approach to learning and teaching, project-based learning (PBL) addressed in
new curriculum reform at the middle school level in China raises the need for change in teachers’
beliefs, since teachers’ beliefs are important factors that influence their acceptance, adaptation,
and implementation of PBL. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examined 23 prospective
teachers’ (PTs) perceived beliefs shifts through participating in a systematic PBL program at a
university. Data were collected from two open questionnaires for pre- and post-tests, respectively,
which were about the beliefs about the nature of mathematics (BNM), beliefs about learning
mathematics (BLM), and beliefs about teaching mathematics (BTM). The results revealed that PTs’
beliefs about BNM, BLM, and BTM were significantly shifted from the instrumentalist view or the
Platonist view to the problem-solving view and that their shifts in BNM positively influenced the
shifts in BLM and BTM. The implication for teachers’ professional development is that
transforming teachers’ beliefs through systematic training on the theory and practice of PBL is
feasible before implementing pedagogical innovations featuring PBL on a large scale.
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