Enacting Project-Based Learning for Higher Education: An Autoethnographic Study of Online Learning During the Pandemic

Authors

Somariah Fitriani, Postgraduate School, Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. HAMKA, Jakarta IndonesiaFollow

Abstract

This study is a reflection on my personal experiences with the higher education online teaching and learning process. It is an autoethnography study in which data were garnered from virtual participant observations, journals, an open-ended questionnaire and interviews about student projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. I leveraged project-based learning as pedagogical device. Thus, the students worked collaboratively on an online training project (webinar) as part of a course on education and training management. I served as both a teacher and a participant in the online training performed by the students. Through virtual participant observation, this project allowed me to learn new insights and skills. I used social capital theory to reflect upon and develop my teaching practice to stimulate students’ creativity, engagement, and collaboration. The project generated student ideas, creativity, knowledge and skills. The power of collaboration is a primary key in fostering students’ ideas, and skills are profoundly needed to accomplish such projects. This study has implications for higher education teachers to rouse students’ creativity and vary their teaching methods in the context of project-based learning (PBL) as a prospective best practice.

Keywords

autoethnography, collaboration, creativity, online project-based learning, webinar

Author Bio(s)

Somariah Fitriani is an associate professor at Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. HAMKA, Jakarta Indonesia. Her research interests include school governance, education for street children, child friendly school, facility and classroom management, parental involvement, triple helix in vocational high school, sekolah pengerak program, collaborative learning in higher education, professional development in higher education and leadership in educational management. Please direct correspondence to somariah@uhamka.ac.id

Acknowledgements

Special thank to Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. HAMKA, which supports the research.

Publication Date

1-6-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7029

Recommended APA Citation

Fitriani, S. (2024). Enacting project-based learning for higher education: An autoethnographic study of online learning during the pandemic. The Qualitative Report, 29(11), 2864-2892. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7029

ORCID ID

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0575-0594

ResearcherID

N-7266-2017