The Effect of Project Based Learning on Academic Emotions Among Physic Students

Academic emotions are one of the important variables in the field of education and can affect educational outcomes. Academic emotions are defined as things that are directly related to academic activities and success outcomes. Academic emotions are important because of their impact on well-being, the quality of learning, progress, and social interaction in the classroom. These emotions are experienced in all academic situations before, during and after class, lessons and exams. Positive emotional states facilitate creative, flexible, and constructive approaches, while negative emotional states facilitate dry, more analytical ways of thinking. Some studies have examined the effectiveness of a project-based approach on academic achievement, motivation, learning style, attitude, creativity, and the development of cognitive skills, but very little attention has been paid to academic excitement. Until recently, these emotions were neglected except for test anxiety. Attention to this issue has increased in the last decade, however, emotions have not escaped attention as effective phenomena that occur in the classroom situation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of project-based learning on the academic excitement of physics students in the basics of electricity and magnetism at Farhangian University. In the framework of this goal, two hypotheses were examined: Project-based learning in physics course has an effect on the positive academic emotions of Farhangian University students. Project-based learning in physics also affects the negative academic emotions of Farhangian University students.
In this study, a quasi-experimental method and a pre-test-post-test design with a control group were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the project-based independent learning variable on the dependent variable of students' academic emotions. The statistical population of the study included all physics students who studied the basics of electricity and magnetism at Farhangian University in the academic year 2009-2010. The statistical sample of this study included 132 physics students of Farhangian University (including 4 classes) who were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two classes of experimental group (66 people) and two classes of control group (66 people). First, both groups were evaluated using the Pekrun Academic Achievement Emotions Questionnaire. Then, the project-based independent learning variable was applied to the experimental group and no new intervention was performed on the control group and the students were trained in the same traditional teacher-centered way. Finally, at the end of the semester, the changes of the dependent variable in both groups were measured by the same questionnaire.
The Pekrun Academic Achievement Emotion Questionnaire (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002) is designed to assess learners' academic achievement emotions. This questionnaire is a self-report tool that is based on qualitative and quantitative research and measures the academic excitement of learners who experience in different educational situations. The questionnaire has three parts: emotions related to the class, emotions related to learning and emotions related to the exam. Each of these categories is divided into two categories of positive and negative emotions. In this study, the emotions related to class and learning were evaluated. Classroom subscales measure class enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, frustration, and fatigue. The Learning Excitement section measures the emotions of hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, frustration, and fatigue.
The educational package of the present study, including the course content, was prepared by the researchers based on a project-based learning approach. After review by four professors of physics and two professors of educational sciences, the training package was reviewed and modified. The package included electroscope construction, Tesla coil construction, Pencil charcoal resistance, IC batteries, Electric magnet construction, Projectile LEDs, Tape suspension, and AC converter. This program has been presented to undergraduate physics students in the first semester of the academic year 2009-2010. Analysis of covariance test was used to analyze the research data.
The results of analysis of covariance showed that the comparison of positive classroom emotions between the two groups F (24.24) was significant at the level of P <0.001. Also, in the positive emotions of learning, the observed F (12.08) is significant at the level of P <0.001. Therefore, by confirming the first hypothesis of the research, it can be said that project-based learning in physics has an effect on the positive academic emotions of Farhangian University students. The results also showed that the comparison of negative classroom emotions between the two F groups (20.39) was significant at the level of P <0.001. Also, in the negative emotions of learning, the observed F (55.75) is significant at the level of P <0.001. Therefore, by confirming the second hypothesis of the research, it can be said that project-based learning in physics has an effect on the negative academic emotions of Farhangian University students.
The results of this study showed that project-based learning is effective in increasing the positive academic excitement of physics students. This effect was observed for both class-related and learning-related emotions. The results also show that project-based learning is effective in reducing the negative academic emotions of physics students. This effect was also seen in both class-related and learning-related emotions.
Experts in the field of education believe that students who learn through active learning not only have better learning, but also enjoy their learning process more. The reason for this pleasure is that instead of being just listeners, they actively participate in the learning process and take responsibility for the learning process.
Project-based learning, by applying real-world performance tasks related to social challenges, provides learners with the opportunity to use the social and emotional competencies associated with learning. Project-based learning increases the motivation and active involvement of learners in learning. This method improves learners' attitudes toward learning physics, reduces anxiety, increases self-efficacy, and enables learners to enjoy learning physics (Goldstein, 2016). The results of Choi, Lee, & Kim (2019) also indicate that the use of this teaching method causes a positive change in students' attitudes toward homework.
In this regard, it is recommended to use this method in teaching students' courses. Curriculum planners are also advised to adjust the curriculum to facilitate the use of new teaching methods and distance from the traditional teacher-centered method. In this study, the academic emotions related to the exam were not examined. It is suggested that this variable be considered in future studies. It is also suggested that the mediating role of academic emotions in students' academic achievement be examined.