THE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: IMPACT ON LEARNING OF GEOLOGY BY SYRIAN REFUGEE GRADE 6 STUDENTS

Abstract

Young Syrian refugees who have experienced the war are in a state of trauma that hinders their normal development, be it physical, emotional, behavioural or even at school level. Geology is, therefore, a dif icult ield to address for both students and teachers. In order to familiarize primary school students (grade 6) with this theme, we have set up and realized a pedagogical project at the ”Janah” educational centre that deals with Syrian refugee students enrolled in public schools in Lebanon. We integrated project-based learning (PBL) into teaching in order to introduce grade 6 students to some basics in geology. Several tests were conducted before and after our intervention. The results show that the PBL develops students’ motivation and involves them more in learning situations while starting from their interests and promoting their cognitive engagement. In addition, PBL promotes their autonomy, awakens their sense of responsibility by integrating them into teams where they collaborate and communicate.