The Impact of Cross-Cutting Pedagogical Features Based on Neuroeducation Advances: Project-Based Learning Vs. Traditional Lecturing in Engineering Education

On the academic level of education, Traditional Lecturing represents the primary means of conveying information to the class. At the same time, Project-based learning is one of the major research subjects in engineering education, and literature claims it can offer more authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Supported by the most recent advances in syntheses of meta-analyses in education and neuroscientific-based educational sciences, the study presented compares Traditional Lecturing and two versions of Project-based learning implemented with variations in content and project typologies through a single-group variation on the two-group post-test-only randomized experiment. Two research hypotheses were investigated using three questionnaires and a test: I) the learning experience and outcomes are enhanced when attending Project-based learning lessons compared to Traditional Lecturing ones; II) effective cross-cutting instructional elements are more detectable in Project-based learning than in Traditional Lecturing and variations in contents and typologies of project do not lead to different outcomes within Project-based learning. The research was carried out in an Engineering course and involved 80 students. The results show that Project-based learning outperforms Traditional Lecturing and highlight the crucial role of some cross-cutting instructional features that are detectable or missing within the two methodologies. Derived from meta-analyses and neuroscientific-based educational sciences, these features represent a solid pedagogical core within the structure of the Project-based learning methodology. We argue they have a relevant role in the stability and enhancement of the results of Project-based learning in comparison with Traditional Lecturing. Indeed, despite variations in content and project typologies, Project-based learning produces similar results. Finally, for engineering teachers wishing to adopt Project-based learning, this study provides insights into the necessity to understand, consciously incorporate, support, and manipulate such particular features, especially through developing pedagogical competence based on scientific evidence.