TYPE Systematic Review

PUBLISHED 17 July 2023

DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728

A study of the impact of

OPEN ACCESS project-based learning on student
learning effects: a meta-analysis
EDITED BY
Douglas F. Kauffman,
Medical University of the Americas – Nevis,
United States

REVIEWED BY
study
Yousef Wardat,
Higher Colleges of Technology,
United Arab Emirates
Lu Zhang 1 and Yan Ma 2*
Anita Habók, 1
Institute of Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China,
University of Szeged, Hungary 2
Institute of Smart Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
*CORRESPONDENCE
Yan Ma
[email protected] Introduction: With the educational reform for skills in the 21st century, a large
RECEIVED 09 April 2023 number of scholars have explored project-based learning. However, whether
ACCEPTED 13 June 2023 project-based learning can effectively improve the learning effect of students has
PUBLISHED 17 July 2023
not yet reached a unified conclusion.
CITATION
Zhang L and Ma Y (2023) A study of the impact
Method: This study uses a meta-analysis method to transform 66 experimental
of project-based learning on student learning or quasi-experimental research papers based on project-based learning over the
effects: a meta-analysis study. past 20 years into 190 effect values from the sample size, mean, and standard
Front. Psychol. 14:1202728.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728
deviation of experimental data during their experiments, and to conduct in-depth
quantitative analysis.
COPYRIGHT
© 2023 Zhang and Ma. This is an open-access Results: The results of the study showed that compared with the traditional
article distributed under the terms of the teaching model, project-based learning significantly improved students’ learning
Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
The use, distribution or reproduction in other outcomes and positively contributed to academic achievement, affective
forums is permitted, provided the original attitudes, and thinking skills, especially academic achievement.
author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are
credited and that the original publication in this Discussion: The results of the moderating effects test indicated that the
journal is cited, in accordance with accepted effectiveness of project-based learning and teaching was influenced by different
academic practice. No use, distribution or
moderating variables, including country region, subject area, type of course,
reproduction is permitted which does not
comply with these terms. academic period, group size, class size, and experimental period : (1) from the
perspective of country geography, the effects of project-based learning in Asia,
especially in Southeast Asia, were significantly better than those in Western Europe
and North America; (2) in terms of curriculum, project-based learning promotes
student learning effects more significantly in engineering and technology
subjects, and is better applied in laboratory classes than in theory classes; (3) from
a pedagogical point of view, project-based learning is more suitable for small
group teaching, in which the group size is 4-5 people teaching the best results;
(4) in view of the experimental period, 9-18 weeks is more appropriate and has
more obvious advantages for application at the high school level.

KEYWORDS

project-based learning, learning effects, 21st century skills, higher-order thinking,

meta-analysis

1. Introduction
Project-based learning (PBL) is a new model of inquiry-based learning that is centered on the
concepts and principles of a subject, with the help of multiple resources and continuous inquiry-
based learning activities in the real world, with the aim of producing a complete project work and
solving multiple interrelated problems within a certain period of time (Jingfu and Zhixian, 2002). s

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a new student-centered teaching approach, project-based learning 2. Literature review and theoretical
directly points to the goal of cultivating 21st-century skills, especially framework
higher-order thinking skills, and higher-order thinking occurs based on
problem-solving, a challenging problem that emphasizes real-world One view is that project-based learning can significantly improve
situations and open environments, and project-based learning motivates student learning outcomes, including academic achievement,
students to continuously explore in the process of problem-solving, thus motivation, and higher-order thinking skills. Karpudewan et al.
promoting the development of higher-order thinking. (2016) explored the feasibility of improving energy literacy among
In the era of digital transformation of education, the new generation secondary school students using a project-based instructional
of information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and approach. The quantitative results of the study showed that students
metaverse are bringing great changes to education at an unimaginable exposed to a PBL curriculum had better performance on energy-
speed, and at the same time posing unprecedented challenges to talent related knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs. The quantitative
training. Cultivating students with higher-order thinking skills that can results of the study showed that students exposed to the PBL
adapt to the future development of society and reasonably cope with the curriculum outperformed students taught using the traditional
complex real world has become an important mission in the current curriculum. The quantitative results of the study showed that students
education reform and development around the world (Ma and Yang, exposed to the PBL course outperformed students taught with
2021). Different types of problems produce different teaching methods traditional courses in terms of energy-related knowledge, attitudes,
and also guide the development of students’ different thinking skills. behaviors, and beliefs. The results of Zhang Ying’s intrinsic motivation
Project-based learning, as a new type of teaching and learning method scale, which was administered to 21 private university students before
in the context of curriculum and teaching reform, takes real life as the and after they received project-based learning, showed that there were
background, is driven by practical problems, breaks the disciplinary significant differences in students’ interest, autonomy, and competence
boundaries, integrates multiple disciplines into one project, and develops before and after, which positively influenced students’ intrinsic
students’ future-oriented abilities——creative thinking, problem raising, motivation to learn (Zhang, 2022). Yun (2022) used the fifth-grade
problem solving, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, project “Searching for Roots. Xu Hui Yuan” project-based learning as
etc. The advantages of this approach over traditional teaching and an example to discuss that project-based in-depth ritual education can
learning models are being recognized and explored. A large number of develop students’ core literacy. Biazus and Mahtari (2022) conducted
studies on the effects of project-based learning have been done, but there a quasi-experiment using project-based learning and direct
is not complete agreement on the effects on the development of students’ instructional learning models and found that the PBL model had a
thinking skills, academic performance, and affective attitudes. significant impact on the enhancement of creative thinking skills of
Over the past few decades, project-based learning has received a lot secondary school students. Parrado-Martínez and Sánchez-Andújar
of attention in the field of education. Many studies have shown that (2020) explored the effects of project-based learning on ninth-grade
project-based learning can improve students’ learning motivation, students’ writing skills and found that cooperative work in project-
problem-solving skills, teamwork, and communication skills. However, based learning potentially promoted students’ critical thinking,
due to the complexity and diversity of project-based learning, as well as communication, and collaboration skills, significantly improving
differences in research methods, research findings on its effectiveness middle school students’ English writing skills. Hernández-Ramos and
and influencing factors vary. A key research question in project-based De La Paz (2009) found that students in project-based learning
learning meta-analytic studies is to assess the impact of project-based conditions showed significant improvements in content knowledge
learning on student learning outcomes, including student performance measures and growth in their historical thinking skills compared to
in the areas of academic achievement, thinking skills, and affective students in control schools. Most researchers agree that STEM as a
attitudes. By combining the results of multiple independent studies, more form of project-based learning and STEM integration will have a
accurate and reliable conclusions can be obtained to further understand positive impact on education, with the advantages outweighing the
the effects of project-based learning. In addition, project-based learning disadvantages (Hamad et al., 2022; Wardat et al., 2022).
meta-analysis studies can help reveal the factors and mechanisms Another view is that project-based learning has the same effect
influencing project-based learning. By comparing the learning effects or even some negative effects compared to traditional instruction.
under different project-based learning conditions, researchers can García-Rodríguez et al. (2021) conducted an intervention
analyze the impact of factors such as project characteristics, instructional experiment in undergraduate education to test the effectiveness of
design, and learning environment on student learning. This can help a student-centered project-based learning approach in promoting
guide the design and implementation of project-based learning and student skill acquisition. The study found that students’ problem-
promote effective student learning. Based on this, this study compensates solving and information management skills, two instrumental
for the limitations of individual studies by integrating and synthesizing general competencies were not improved. The results of ÇAKICI’s
multiple independent studies in order to systematically assess the effects project-based learning activities on fifth-grade children’s science
of project-based learning, provide more accurate and reliable evidence, achievement showed that although project-based activities
and reduce the chance of research findings. At the same time, project- significantly improved children’s science achievement, attitudes
based learning meta-analysis can provide a broader perspective to help toward science did not change. Gratchev and Jeng (2018) explored
researchers and educational policy makers gain a comprehensive whether the combination of traditional teaching methods and
understanding of the effects and influencing factors of project-based project-based learning activities improved students’ learning
learning, so that they can develop more effective teaching strategies and experiences, and data collected over 3 years showed that the two
policies to promote the improvement and development of project- groups’ achievements were very similar, and the findings indicated
based learning. that students were less motivated to accept new learning methods

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such as PBL. Parrado-Martínez and Sánchez-Andújar (2020) found standardized mean differences from relevant literature, while using
that the implementation of PBL did not significantly change the standard deviation (SMD), which can correct for small sample
students’ perceived utility of teamwork, communication, and bias, as the effective value to indicate the degree of influence of
creativity. Kızkapan and Bektaş (2017) examined the effects of project-based instruction on student learning outcomes. The study
project-based learning and traditional learning methods on the entered the relevant data into CMA meta-analysis software
academic performance of seventh graders, and the results showed (Comprehensive Meta Analysis 3.0) for data analysis.
no significant differences between the experimental and control
groups on post-test “achievement test” scores. Sivia et al. (2019)
used a mixed triangulation-convergence approach to examine the 3.2. Research process
difference in student engagement between project-based and
non-project-based learning units and found that project-based To ensure the quality of the study, this study strictly followed the
learning did not significantly increase student engagement. meta-analysis criteria proposed by Glass (1976), which was mainly
Karaçalli and Korur (2014) used a quasi-experimental design to divided into four assessment procedures: literature collection,
teach the experimental group using a project-based learning literature coding, effect size calculation, and moderating variable
approach, and the results showed no statistically significant effect analysis, and finally a comprehensive effect size exploration and
on students’ attitudes toward learning across groups. study results.
In summary, a review of the literature reveals that the research
findings and teaching effectiveness of project-based learning have not 3.2.1. Literature search
yet been uniformly determined, and few studies have systematically To ensure the timeliness of the study, this study mainly searched
analyzed and evaluated the optimal group size, class size, curriculum the relevant research on the topic of project-based learning since 2003
type, and subject area of project-based learning. Therefore, based on to 2023, mainly in CNKI, Springer Link, Web of Science, Semantic
66 empirical research papers that conducted experimental or quasi- Scholar and other databases, and searched the literature by “AND” or
experimental studies on project-based learning and traditional “OR” logical word collocation of project-based learning and learning
teaching, this study quantifies the true magnitude of the impact of the effectiveness keywords. The keywords of project-based learning
project-based learning approach on students’ learning outcomes and include: project-based learning, PBL, project teaching; the keywords
seeks to summarize the experience of applying project-based learning of learning effect include: learning effect, learning performance,
in schools in order to provide a reference for developing project-based learning achievement, learning*, learning outcome, learning result,
teaching. And an attempt is made to answer the following etc. And the selected articles are all from SSCI or SCI authoritative
research questions: journals, Chinese core journals of article literature type and part of the
master’s degree thesis. To avoid omissions, this study also
1. Does project-based learning significantly improve students’ supplemented the search with the references of relevant articles.
thinking skills, academic performance, and affective attitudes
compared to traditional teaching methods? 3.2.2. Literature selection and inclusion criteria
2. How do different moderating variables (type of course, learning To find articles that meet the subject matter requirements, this
section, group size, class size, subject category, experiment study used the (Page, 2021) process for literature processing (Vrabel,
period, country region.) affect students’ learning effects? 2009), the literature search, screening, and inclusion process is shown
in Figure 2. Combining the needs of the meta-analysis method itself
Since the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of project- and ensuring the accuracy and rigor of the research results, the
based learning on learning effectiveness and to explore other factors following selection and inclusion criteria were used: (1) duplicate
that may moderate this effect. Therefore, based on relevant research literature had to be removed; (2) it had to be a study of the effects of
findings on the effect of project-based integrated learning on learning project-based learning versus traditional teaching models on learning
effectiveness and the results of literature coding, the meta-analytic effectiveness; (3) it had to be an empirical research type article; (4)
theoretical framework for this study, as shown in Figure 1. complete data that could calculate the effect values had to be available.
A total of 91 articles were screened by two researchers in the inclusion
phase, and those with inconsistent screening were discussed, and the
3. Study design final decision was made to include 66 articles in the meta-analysis,
which met the inclusion criteria for the number of articles in the meta-
3.1. Methods analysis method.

Meta-Analysis is a quantitative analysis method that extracts and 3.2.3. Literature code
organizes multiple results of experimental or quasi-experimental The concept of project-based learning was first introduced by
studies on the same research question and then produces an average American educator William Heard Kilpatrick proposed (Kilpatrick,
effect value by weighting the sample size, standard mean deviation, 1918). In the 1920s and 1930s, project-based learning was widely
and other data from the existing research results and analyzes the used in the lower grades of elementary and secondary schools in the
effect value to obtain the results. The meta-analysis method has been United States; in 1969, McMaster University in Canada officially
widely used in education. This study compares and combines literature launched the PBL teaching model within the school. To compare the
on the same research topic but with different research results by variability of the effects of project-based learning in countries
extracting data such as pre and post-test means, sample sizes, and around the world, the regions of the countries where the study was

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FIGURE 1
Research framework diagram.

FIGURE 2
Flow chart of literature screening.

conducted were coded and divided into North America, Oceania, Mayer, 2004; Mioduser and Betzer, 2007; Hernández-Ramos and De
Southeast Asia, and other regions. As project-based learning is used La Paz, 2009; Domínguez and Elizondo, 2010; Keleşoğlu, 2011;
more frequently in the classroom, whether there is an ideal group Çakici and Türkmen, 2013; Karaçalli and Korur, 2014; Bilgin et al.,
size to facilitate student learning outcomes (Wei et al., 2020), and the 2015; Astawa et al., 2017; Kızkapan and Bektaş, 2017; ShiXuan, 2017;
impact of group size on academic achievement (Al Mulhim and Yuan, 2017; Praba et al., 2018; Yexin, 2019; Faqing, 2020; Gao, 2020;
Eldokhny, 2020), which academic section, subject, and course type Lei, 2020; Ling, 2020; Linxiao, 2020; Lu, 2020; Luo, 2020; Mingquan,
is better taught, are questions that should be addressed. Therefore, 2020; Rui, 2020; Yanan, 2020; Yang, 2020; Akharraz, 2021; Cong,
the coding of this study included the following seven main items: 2021; Migdad et al., 2021; Xiaolei, 2021; Wang, 2021a,b, 2022; Jina,
subject category, course type, country region, academic section, 2022; Ma, 2022; Xu, 2022; Xuezhi, 2022; Yating, 2022; Ying, 2022;
class size, group size, and experimental period, and categorized Yuting, 2022; Zhang, 2022). To ensure the objectivity of the coding
learning outcomes into three main categories: academic process, this study was completed independently by two researchers
achievement, thinking skills, and emotional attitudes. Because this for the 66 empirical research articles included in the meta-analysis,
study included 66 documents with 190 effect sizes, only part of the and the coding results were tested for consistency using SPSS 24.0,
feature coding content is displayed, as shown in Table 1 (Kelly and and the Kappa value was 0.864, which was greater than 0.7,

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TABLE 1 Code list (due to space limitation, only part of the coding content is shown).

Number Author Learning effect Study design Basic features

(year)
Group Class Experimental Learning Subject Course Country
size size period Section category types region
Duman and Emotional Learning Humanities and
1 4–5 Small 1–8 weeks High school theory Western Asia
Yavuz (2018) attitude attitude social

Zulaeha and
Academic Academic Humanities and
2 Marpaung 4–5 Small 1–8 weeks University theory Southeast Asia
achievement achievement social
(2020)

1 Parrado-
Martínez and
Emotional Junior high Humanities and
3 Sánchez- Self-efficacy 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
attitude school social
Andújar
(2020)

2 Parrado-
Martínez and
Emotional Learning Junior high Humanities and
4 Sánchez- 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
attitude attitude school social
Andújar
(2020)

3 Parrado-
Martínez and
Cooperation Junior high Humanities and
5 Sánchez- Thinking skills 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
ability school social
Andújar
(2020)

4 Parrado-
Martínez and
Problem Junior high Humanities and
6 Sánchez- Thinking skills 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
raising school social
Andújar
(2020)

5 Parrado-
Martínez and
Academic Academic Junior high Humanities and
7 Sánchez- 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
achievement achievement school social
Andújar
(2020)

6 Parrado-
Martínez and
Academic Academic Junior high Humanities and
8 Sánchez- 8 and above Middle 1–8 weeks experimental Oceania
achievement achievement school social
Andújar
(2020)

1 Kaldi et al. Emotional Western

9 Self-efficacy 8 and above Small 1–8 weeks Primary school Natural science theory
(2011) attitude Europe

2 Kaldi et al. Cooperation Western

10 Thinking skills 8 and above Small 1–8 weeks Primary school Natural science theory
(2011) ability Europe

3 Kaldi et al. Academic Academic Western

11 8 and above Small 1–8 weeks Primary school Natural science theory
(2011) achievement achievement Europe

WEN-JYE. Academic Academic 8 and Engineering

12 Small Over 18 weeks University experimental East Asia
(2009) achievement achievement abovec and technology

Emotional Humanities and

13 1 Safa. (2021) Self-efficacy 4–5 Small 1–8 weeks University theory Western Asia
attitude social

Decision- Humanities and

14 2 Safa. (2021) Thinking skills 4–5 Small 1–8 weeks University theory Western Asia
making ability social

Kızkapan and Academic Academic Junior high

15 8 and above Small 1–8 weeks other theory Western Asia
Bektaş (2017) achievement achievement school

indicating that the coding effect was valid and the results size, standard deviation, and mean value, was performed by finding
were credible. the relevant experimental data in the literature. The effect size values
were calculated as follows:
3.2.4. Data analysis Starting with Mean, SD, N in each group.
Based on the completion of the literature coding, the calculation Raw difference in means.
of the effect size (Standardized difference in means), including sample RawDiff = Mean1-Mean2.

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SDP = Sqr (((N1–1) * SD1^2 + (N2-1) * SD2^2)/(N1 + N2–2))). much larger than “5K + 10” (K = 190), suggesting that an additional
Standardized difference in means. 2,546 unpublished studies would be required to reverse the results
StdDiff = RawDiff/SDP. (Rothstein et al., 2006), and it can be concluded that there is no
The next stage was data analysis by (1) publication bias test. A significant publication bias in this study.
funnel plot was used for qualitative analysis, while a combination of
Begg’s rank test and loss of safety coefficient was used for quantitative 4.1.2. Heterogeneity test
analysis; (2) Heterogeneity test. The aim was to determine whether To ensure that the effect values of the independent samples in this
there was heterogeneity among the samples in this study; (3) study are combinable, Q and I2 values were used to define
Calculation of effect size values. To quantify the degree of influence of heterogeneity. Higgins et al. classified heterogeneity as low, medium,
project chemistry learning on learning outcomes; (4) the moderating or high, as measured by the magnitude of the I2 statistic, which was
variables were tested. All data analyses in this study were conducted 25, 50, and 75%, respectively. In addition, if the Q statistic is significant
using Comprehensive Meta Analysis 3.0. then the hypothesis that there is no heterogeneity among the sample
data should be rejected. Based on the forest plot of I2 = 87.4% > 50%
and Q = 1496.2 (p < 0.001), the results indicate that there is a high
4. Results degree of heterogeneity between the samples, therefore, this study
used a random effects model for correlation analysis to eliminate some
4.1. General effect size results of the effects of heterogeneity, and also further indicates that it is
necessary to conduct a moderated effects test to examine the effect of
4.1.1. Publication bias test project-based learning on learning effects.
In this study, the std. diff in means (SMD) value was selected as
the unbiased effect value, and also to ensure the possibility that the
results reported in the literature do not deviate from the true results, 4.2. Results about problem of studies’ fields
the publication bias was analyzed qualitatively using funnel plots, and
the publication bias was analyzed qualitatively using Begg’s rank test, 4.2.1. The overall impact of project-based
Trim and Fill and Fail-safe N to quantitatively analyze publication learning on student learning outcomes
bias. Publication bias is critical to the results of meta-analysis, and if Cohen (1988) proposed the effect value analysis theory in 1988,
the research literature is not systematically representative of all he believed that the effect standard measure effect is determined by
existing research in the field in general, it indicates that publication the effect value (ES), when the ES is less than 0.2, it means that there
bias may exist (Higgins and Thompson, 2002). As shown in Figure 3, is a small effect impact, when the ES is between 0.2–0.8 means that
the majority of study effect values were clustered within the funnel there is a moderate effect, when the ES > 0.8 means that there is a
plot, and a small number of effect values were relative to the right, with significant effect impact. This study included 190 experimental data
Begg’s rank test Z = 5.082 > 1.960 (p < 0.05), indicating a possible from 66 empirical research papers, and as shown in Table 2, the
publication bias. Therefore, the severity of publication bias was further combined effect value of the impact of project-based learning on
identified using the loss of safety factor, which showed N = 2,546, student learning outcomes was 0.441, close to 0.5 and p < 0.001,

FIGURE 3
Publication bias funnel plot.

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indicating that project-based learning has a large degree of impact on which is close to 0.6, indicating that the effect of group size on
learning outcomes and is an effective teaching approach. students’ learning effectiveness is more significant and has a moderate
In this study, the literature included in the meta-analysis was to a high degree of facilitating effect. In terms of the effect values of
divided into three subcategories of academic achievement, thinking different sizes, the effect values are all positive, indicating that the
skills, and emotional attitudes according to the “three-dimensional group learning style is effective and has different degrees of facilitating
goals” for analysis. Moderately positive impact (SMD = 0.650), and the effects on learning effects, with the most significant facilitating effect
total effect values for affective attitudes and thinking skills were 0.389 of a group size of 4–5 students on learning effects (SMD = 0.909).
and 0.386, respectively. Fourth, to test the applicability of project-based learning on
Based on the deeper connotation of “three-dimensional goals,” different class sizes, the class sizes were divided into three sizes
this study classifies affective attitudes into learning motivation, according to the sample size: small (1 ~ 100 students), medium
learning attitude, learning interest, and self-efficacy; thinking skills (100 ~ 200 students), and large (200 ~ 300 students), and the data in
into creative thinking ability, computational thinking ability, decision- Table 4 show that the overall effect value of the moderating effect of
making ability, critical thinking ability, problem-solving ability, class size on the learning effect is 0.378, p < 0.001, indicating that
problem raising ability, collaboration ability, and comprehensive project-based learning on different class size. Looking specifically at
application ability. As shown in Table 3. In terms of affective attitudes, each size, the degree of impact was higher for small class sizes
project-based learning influenced more on students’ interest in (SMD = 0.483), followed by medium size (SMD = 0.466), but lower and
learning (SMD = 0.713), and also had moderate positive effects on not significant for large class sizes (SMD = 0.106, p = 0.101 < 0.05).
learning motivation (SMD = 0.401) and learning attitudes Fifth, when subject categories were viewed as moderating
(SMD = 0.536), with lower effects on self-efficacy; in terms of thinking variables, all subject effect values were larger than 0, with a combined
skills, project-based learning had the most significant effects on effect value of SMD = 0.443 (p < 0.001), suggesting that project-based
students’ creative thinking skills (SMD = 0.626) and computational learning had a positive degree of enhancement on learning
thinking skills (SMD = 0.719) had the most significant effect, followed effectiveness across subjects, reaching a statistically significant
by problem solving, collaboration, and general application skills, but difference. Due to the relatively small amount of literature in other
the effects on decision making, critical thinking, and problem raising categories and life sciences, this study focuses on the effects of project-
skills did not reach a statistically significant level. based learning on learning outcomes in engineering and technology,
humanities and social, and natural sciences. In each of the subjects,
4.2.2. Examining the effects of different Engineering and Technology (SMD = 0.619) > Natural Sciences
moderating variables on student learning (SMD = 0.484) > Humanities and Society (SMD = 0.284), the results
First, in terms of country region as a moderating variable, the indicate that project-based learning has the most significant impact
overall effect value of its moderating effect on learning effectiveness on learning effectiveness in Engineering and Technology and relatively
was 0.358 and p < 0.001, indicating a moderate effect and the effects less in Humanities and Society.
varied across countries. In terms of effect values between groups, Sixth, the overall effect value SMD = 0.441 when looking at the
although project-based learning originated in the United States and type of course as a moderating variable, while the between-group
was first applied in American countries such as Canada, its effect on effect test between experimental and theoretical classes reached a
student learning outcomes was not significant (SMD = 0.061, statistically significant level (p < 0.001). The effect of project-based
p = 0.429 > 0.05), and there was no significant difference in whether or learning on student learning outcomes was more pronounced in
not project-based learning was used; instead, the application of experimental classes (SMD = 0.498), which was greater than the
project-based learning produced better learning outcomes in Asian overall combined effect value, consistent with the finding that project-
countries, especially in Southeast Asian countries (SMD = 0.684), based learning is more suitable and effective teaching strategy for
followed by West Asia (SMD = 0.594). engineering and technology disciplines, while the use of project-based
Second, looking at the school level as the moderating variable, the teaching in theory classes (SMD = 0.393) was below the average
overall effect value SMD = 0.355, in order of effect value from smallest effect value.
to largest, is university (SMD = 0.116) < junior high school Seventh, in terms of the experimental period as a moderating
(SMD = 0.520) < primary school (SMD = 0.527) < high school variable, there were significant differences in project-based learning
(SMD = 0.720), which indicates that there are differences in the effects across experimental periods (p < 0.001), with a moderating overall
of project-based learning on the learning outcomes of students in effect value of SMD = 0.424. The best effect of instructional facilitation
different school levels, with the effects on high school, primary school, was observed for the duration of 9–18 weeks (SMD = 0.673), which
and junior high school, while the effect on college was relatively small. was better than single experiments (SMD = 0.359) and 1–8 weeks
Third, using group size as the moderating variable, the combined (SMD = 0.498), with a relatively weak effect on learning outcomes
effect value of group size on learning effectiveness is 0.592 (p < 0.001), beyond 18 weeks (SMD = 0.3000).

TABLE 2 Main effects test.

Effect model Number of Effect value 95% confidence interval Two-tailed test
effects
Lower limit Upper limit Z-value p-value
Fixed effects 190 0.306 0.453 0.331 24.854 0.000

Random effects 190 0.441 0.371 0.551 12.334 0.000

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TABLE 3 Effects of project-based learning on different learning outcomes.

Learning Number Total Type Number effect 95% confidence Two-tailed test
effect of effects effect of effects value interval
value
Lower Upper Z-value P-value
limit limit
Academic Academic
40 0.650 40 0.650 0.453 0.846 6.480 0.000
achievement achievement

Learning
5 0.401 0.162 0.640 3.283 0.001
motivation
Emotional
50 0.389 Learning attitude 18 0.536 0.312 0.759 4.702 0.000
attitude
Learning interest 7 0.713 0.282 1.145 3.242 0.001

Self-efficacy 20 0.181 0.062 0.301 2.969 0.003

Creative thinking
14 0.626 0.288 0.965 8.956 0.000
skills

Computational
5 0.719 0.332 1.106 3.645 0.000
thinking skills

Decision-making
9 0.092 −0.127 0.311 0.820 0.412
skills

Critical thinking
2 0.512 −0.583 1.607 0.916 0.360
skills
Thinking skills 100 0.386
Problem-solving
18 0.365 0.182 0.548 3.909 0.000
skills

Problem-raising
13 0.117 −0.092 0.326 1.096 0.273
ability

Collaboration
17 0.404 0.141 0.666 3.016 0.003
ability

Comprehensive
22 0.432 0.217 0.646 3.945 0.000
application ability

5. Discussion This is consistent with previous studies. Compared with the traditional
“teacher teach-student receive-evaluate and feedback” model, project-
This study used meta-analysis to systematically review and based learning is closer to a “complete learning process” (Changming,
quantitatively analyze 66 experimental or quasi-experimental research 2020). It is a student-centered learning activity in which students show
papers published between 2003 and 2023 on the effects of project- richer affective attitudes such as interest in learning and attitudes
based instruction on student learning, and to dissect the differences toward learning, which can positively guide students’ motivation to
brought about by different moderating variables. The results show learn and influence their academic performance, and is naturally more
that: ① project-based learning can significantly improve students’ effective in developing students’ emotional attitudes and values, and
learning outcomes compared with traditional teaching models; ② the thinking skills.
effects of project-based teaching and learning are influenced by Second, project-based learning has a significant positive effect on
different moderating variables, including subject area, course type, students’ thinking skills (SMD = 0.387, p < 0.001) and affective attitudes
academic period, group size, class size, and experiment period. The (SMD = 0.379, p < 0.001), indicating that the effect of project-based
results derived from the meta-analysis are further discussed and learning on students’ learning outcomes is not only the effect of academic
analyzed below. performance, but also the effect of self-emotional attitudes and values,
creative thinking skills, computational thinking skills, and other higher-
order The impact of project-based learning on students’ learning is not
5.1. Project-based learning has a positive only on their academic performance, but also on their self-emotional
effect on student learning outcomes attitudes and values, creative thinking skills, computational thinking
skills and other higher-order thinking skills. Project-based learning is a
First, the combined effect value of SMD = 0.441 (p < 0.001) for the classroom activity that effectively develops students’ core literacies
effect of project-based learning on learning outcomes indicates that (Hongxing, 2017) and promotes the development of higher-order
compared to the traditional teaching model, project-based teaching thinking (Weihong and Yinglong, 2019). The real value of project-based
has a moderately positive contribution to students’ academic learning lies in its ability to enhance students’ higher-order thinking
achievement, thinking skills, and affective attitudes, which is skills, such as creative thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and
consistent with the results of previous studies (Wenlan and Jiao, 2019). integrated application skills, by exploring real problems in small groups

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TABLE 4 Results of moderating effects of different moderating variables.

Adjustment Type Number of Effect Degree of 95% confidence Two-tailed test

variables effects value influence interval
Lower Upper Z-value P-value
limit limit
North Africa 1 2.033 Larger 0.190 0.857 1.249 0.212

North America 14 0.061 Smaller 1.447 2.618 6.806 0.000

Oceania 9 0.334 Middle 0.058 0.258 1.239 0.215

Southeast Asia 15 0.684 Middle 0.019 0.184 1.586 0.113

Eastern Europe 1 0.305 Middle 0.382 0.665 7.229 0.000

Country Region East Asia 94 0.550 Middle 0.509 0.710 11.850 0.000

South America 1 1.145 Larger 0.190 0.857 1.249 0.212

Western Europe 32 0.076 Smaller 1.447 2.618 6.806 0.000

Western Asia 23 0.594 Middle 0.058 0.258 1.239 0.215

Combined effect
190 0.358 Middle 0.303 0.420 12.073 0.000
volume

Primary School 41 0.527 Middle 0.369 0.684 6.541 0.000

Junior High
52 0.520 Middle 0.388 0.651 7.754 0.000
School

Learning period High School 40 0.720 Middle 0.558 0.881 8.727 0.000

University 57 0.116 Smaller 0.027 0.204 2.550 0.011

Combined effect
190 0.355 Middle 0.294 0.417 11.293 0.000
volume

3 and below 2 0.778 Middle 0.464 1.093 4.852 0.000

4–5 23 0.909 Larger 0.720 1.099 9.428 0.000

6–7 42 0.436 Middle 0.310 0.562 6.764 0.000

Group size*
8 and above 14 0.514 Middle 0.229 0.799 3.538 0.000

Combined effect
81 0.592 Middle 0.498 0.686 12.344 0.000
volume

small 104 0.483 Middle 0.387 0.578 9.936 0.000

Middle 71 0.466 Middle 0.338 0.594 7.124 0.000

Class size Big 15 0.106 Smaller 0.021 0.233 1.642 0.101

Combined effect
190 0.378 Middle 0.313 0.444 11.319 0.000
volume

Engineering and
62 0.619 Middle 0.482 0.756 8.844 0.000
technology

Humanities and
55 0.284 Middle 0.166 0.402 4.720 0.000
Society

Subject category Life science 3 0.708 Middle 0.482 0.933 6.147 0.000

Natural science 42 0.484 Middle 0.365 0.602 7.997 0.000

Other 28 0.275 Middle 0.107 0.442 3.214 0.001

Combined effect 0.506 13.773 0.000

190 0.443 Middle 0.380
volume

Course type Theory class 103 0.393 Middle 0.297 0.488 8.088 0.000

Experimental class 87 0.498 Middle 0.395 0.600 9.541 0.000

Combined effect 190 0.441 Middle 0.372 0.511 12.420 0.000

volume

(Continued)

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Zhang and Ma 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728

TABLE 4 (Continued)

Adjustment Type Number of Effect Degree of 95% confidence Two-tailed test

variables effects value influence interval
Lower Upper Z-value P-value
limit limit
Experimental period Single experiment 28 0.359 Middle 0.241 0.478 5.947 0.000

1–8 weeks 62 0.498 Middle 0.380 0.615 8.321 0.000

9–18 weeks 35 0.673 Middle 0.494 0.853 7.353 0.000

18 weeks or more 65 0.300 Middle 0.179 0.420 4.874 0.000

Combined effect 190 0.424 Middle 0.360 0.488 12.972 0.000

volume
*To avoid the inclusion of literature that did not provide group size numbers from influencing the study results, only literature that did provide data was included in the analysis here.
Other literature included in the meta-analysis (Beier et al., 2019; Castro-Vargas et al., 2020; Chung, 2021; Ergül and Kargın, 2014; Hugerat, 2016; Hung et al., 2012; Lazić et al., 2021; Lin and
Lu, 2018; Mark, 2022; Ozdamli and Turan, 2017; Ruiz-Rosa et al. (2013; Wang et al., 2016; Wurdinger and Qureshi, 2015; Zulaeha et al., 2020.).

as a way to acquire the core concepts and principles of subject knowledge, countries, students and teachers focus more on theoretical knowledge
and by posing driving questions around a topic based on real situations and logical thinking, individual student performance, and
and students’ deep involvement in the investigation. Education for the competition, and in countries such as Oceania, students and teachers
future requires project-based learning to develop students’ 21st century focus more on practicality and teamwork. In Asia, however, the
skills and core literacies for their future careers and lives. educational culture emphasizes a focus on discipline, order, and
respect for teachers, making project-based learning more acceptable
to students and parents. Students’ attitudes toward learning are also
5.2. Moderating effects of different generally more serious, hard-working, and diligent, focusing on
variables on student learning outcomes academic performance and opportunities for advancement, so
students are more willing to engage in project-based learning in the
To better analyze the impact brought by different moderating hope of achieving better learning outcomes. Fourthly, in Asia,
variables, this study categorized the moderating variables into four major especially in East Asia, there is a strong demand for high-quality
categories: first, country region; second, curriculum, including subject human resources, and project-based learning can cultivate students’
categories and course types; third, teaching, including experimental practical skills and innovative spirit, making them more competitive
period and learning periods; and fourth, experimental scale, including and capable of adapting to the future society.
class size and group size. The results of the meta-analysis show as follows: In terms of curriculum, the combined effects of project-based
(1) the application effect of project-based learning in Asia is better than learning on different subject areas and different course types were
that in countries in Oceania and Western Europe; (2) project-based approximately equal, at 0.443 and 0.441, respectively, and the effect
learning has different degrees of influence on different disciplines and is on student learning in engineering and technology disciplines was
better applied in the type of laboratory course; (3) in terms of the more significant (SMD = 0.619) and larger than the average effect,
experimental period, the experimental period of 9–18 weeks is more which is consistent with previous research findings that PBL is more
appropriate and the application advantage of project-based learning at appropriate for teaching in engineering (Kolmos and De Graaff,
the high school level is more obvious; (4) project-based learning is more 2014). Facing the rapidly developing society, the traditional teaching
suitable for small-class teaching, in which the best effect is achieved when methods seem to be unable to better develop students’ skills to meet
the group size is 4–5 students. the market demand, and the research results also show that the
In terms of country region, the combined effect value of project- application effect of PBL in experimental classes (SMD = 0.498) is
based learning is 0.358, and the application effect varies in different better than that in theoretical classes (SMD = 0.393), because PBL
countries. In the Asian region, especially Southeast Asia, the effect of can give students a complete understanding of the process of a
project-based learning is significantly better than that of Western project from problem raising to problem-solving, which provides
Europe and North America. This study suggests the following reasons: them with valuable practical experience.
First, Southeast Asian countries are relatively lagging in economic From the instructional aspect, the experimental period of
development, and industrialization and modernization are slower, so 9–18 weeks (SMD = 0.673) had the greatest impact on student learning
students and teachers pay more attention to practical learning effects, and the impact of project-based learning for more than 18 weeks
methods, and project-based learning is a practice-based, problem- (SMD = 0.359) was relatively low, while the results of the study showed
solving-oriented learning method that can better help them adapt and that project-based learning had a greater impact at the high school level
master skills and knowledge in actual work. Secondly, because the (SMD = 0.720), followed by elementary school, middle school, and
level of basic education in some Southeast Asian countries is relatively university, a finding that supports the results of Mehmet’s study (Ayaz
low due to various factors such as history, culture, and society, the and Soeylemez, 2015). The moderating effect of the experimental
project-based learning method can help students understand practical period showed that the longer the experiment, the better the effect of
problems more deeply, comprehend knowledge, and enhance their about half a semester, and the project-based learning did not have a
hands-on and problem-solving abilities. Third, in Western European lasting and stable effect on students’ learning outcomes. Currently

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Zhang and Ma 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728

project-based learning is carried out more often at the primary and in Figure 4, and will be analyzed in the following in conjunction with
secondary school levels, and the teaching effect is more significant, but the theoretical framework.
the application effect in universities is relatively low (SMD = 0.116), and In terms of the specific process of project-based learning, it
the results of the study also indicate that the application promotion includes five steps: identifying project goals and scope, developing a
effect is most obvious in engineering and technology disciplines, so in project plan, implementing the project, monitoring project progress
the follow-up study, the application of project-based learning at the and solving problems, completing the project and presenting and
higher education level should be actively explored. evaluating it, and these steps include key activities that affect learning
In terms of experimental scale, the effect of project-based learning outcomes such as problem orientation, cooperative learning, and
on small class teaching (SMD = 0.483) is greater than that of medium authenticity, which together affect students’ learning outcomes.
class (SMD = 0.466) and large class (SMD = 0.106), and the teaching Specifically, project-based learning is usually oriented to real-life
effect is better for group size of 4–5 people (SMD = 0.909), 8 people problems, requiring students to apply their knowledge and skills to
and above (SMD = 0.514), and 6–7 people (SMD = 0.436) in decreasing solve problems, and the driving questions stimulate students’ interest
order. Therefore, project-based learning is more suitable for small- in learning; it integrates the knowledge and skills of multiple
class teaching, and the number of people in the group collaborative disciplines, blending theoretical knowledge with practice and
learning is more conducive to the learning effect of around 4–5 people, cultivating students’ creative thinking skills and comprehensive
which is almost consistent with the results of Wei et al. (2020) study application skills; in the process of implementing projects, group
on the effect of cooperative learning on learning effect. The relationship members divide the work and cooperate to identify problems and
between class size and educational output has been discussed by a After the project is completed and presented, the teacher gives timely
number of economists from the perspective of the economics of feedback and evaluation to influence students’ attitude in project-
education, and is referred to as the “class size effect.” In small classes, based learning and improve the learning effect. In conclusion, the
teachers can spend more time on teaching and learning, each student specific process and characteristics of project-based learning are the
can receive more attention from the teacher, and teachers and students key factors to enhance students’ learning effect. Reasonable design of
can have more time to interact, thus having more opportunities to project characteristics and the application of different variables in
demonstrate and participate in collaborative group learning. In terms project-based learning can effectively enhance students’ learning effect.
of group size, although there is no uniform standard, in general, too
few or too many group members are not conducive to a higher degree
of impact on the learning effect. From the research results, the best 5.4. When is it more effective to use
learning effect is produced by 4–5 students, with more reasonable task project-based learning?
distribution among group members, all with a clear division of labor
and sufficient interaction, which is more conducive to the formation The findings suggest that learning effects are influenced by different
of the group effect, thus better promoting the learning effect. moderating variables, and this study suggests combining the effects of
different variables for project-based learning in order to achieve the
optimal effect size. For high school students in the field of engineering
5.3. How does the impact of project-based and technology subject areas of laboratory courses to 9–18 weeks as the
learning on learning outcomes occur? experimental period, based on small class teaching, and group size of 4–5
people using the PBL method of teaching, to promote the improvement
The results of the study show that project-based learning has a of student learning outcomes more effective. In experimental courses, the
moderate positive contribution to learning effectiveness under use of project-based learning can enable students to gain a deeper
different measurement measures dimensions, and how its effect understanding of the principles and practical operations of experiments,
occurs. The theoretical framework of the impact of project-based increase their interest and motivation, and promote the development of
learning on learning effectiveness is drawn in conjunction with the their active learning and innovative thinking skills, thus improving
specific processes and key features of project-based learning, as shown learning outcomes. Small class teaching and group work can better meet

FIGURE 4
Theoretical framework for the impact of project-based learning on learning effects.

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Zhang and Ma 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1202728

students’ individual needs, enhance their sense of participation and and project-based learning to better develop students’ core literacy
belonging, and increase their interest and motivation in learning. Finally, and 21st century skills.
the 9–18 weeks experimental cycle allows students to make the most of
their time and explore the subject matter in depth, enabling them to gain
deeper understanding and experience in their learning. It is hoped that Data availability statement
the results of this study will provide a reference for front-line educators
to carry out project-based teaching and explore more effective ways to The original contributions presented in the study are included in
promote learning outcomes. the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed
to the corresponding author.

6. Conclusion
Author contributions
This study conducted a meta-analysis of 66 empirical research
papers on the use of project-based learning interventions for learning, YM: critically review the work, provide commentary, supervise
and the findings provide evidence for the use of project-based learning and direct the writing of the draft. LZ: conceptualization, methodology,
in education to develop students’ core literacy and higher-order validation, quantitative data analysis, writing, review and editing. All
thinking skills, and 21st-century skills. The results show that: (1) authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
project-based learning can significantly improve students’ learning
outcomes compared with traditional teaching models; (2) the effects
of project-based teaching are influenced by different moderating Funding
variables, including subject area, course type, academic period, group
size, class size, and experiment period. From the perspective of This work was supported by the Chongqing graduate education
countries and regions, the effect of project-based learning in Asia, teaching reform research project (No. yjg201009), the Postgraduate
especially in Southeast Asia, is significantly better than that in Western Research Innovation Project of Chongqing in 2023 (No. CYS23419,
Europe and North America; from the perspective of courses, project- No. CYS23416), and the Special Project of Chongqing Normal
based learning has a more obvious effect on promoting students’ University Institute of Smart Education in 2023 (No. YZH23013).
learning in engineering and technology disciplines, and the
application effect in experimental classes is better than that in theory
classes; from the perspective of teaching, project-based learning is Acknowledgments
more suitable for small-class teaching, in which the best effect is
achieved with a group size of 4–5 students From the perspective of We would like to sincerely thank all the teachers and students of
teaching, project-based learning is more suitable for small class Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University,
teaching, and the best effect is achieved in group size of 4–5 students. for their support and contributions to us, especially for the support
from the Smart Education Research Institute.

7. Limitation
Conflict of interest
Although our findings have important implications for educators,
they still have some limitations. For example, some studies using The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
project-based learning for teaching and learning lacked sufficient absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be
statistical information for inclusion in the analysis, and most of the construed as a potential conflict of interest.
studies did not provide a specific classification of learning
effectiveness, limiting our ability to analyze learning effectiveness
enhancement in more detail. Subsequent research can be carried out Publisher’s note
in depth in two aspects: (1) the current empirical studies on project-
based learning focus on primary and secondary schools, with less All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors
research on the impact on universities and young children; with the and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations,
popularity of higher education, future research can be conducted on or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product
the above research subjects; (2) taking the digital transformation of that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its
education as an opportunity to explore the integration of technology manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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