The Effects of Project-Based Learning on Mathematics Achievement and Critical thinking skills of Grade 2 Students at Xingzhou Primary School
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Abstract
This study aimed: 1) to compare the mathematics achievement of Grade 2 students at Xingzhou Primary School of China, before and after participating in project-based learning, and 2) to examine students’ critical thinking skills following the project-based learning intervention. The sample consisted of 45 Grade 2 students selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 315 students during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The research instruments comprised: (1) a 15-hour project-based instructional plan covering three mathematics topics, validated by three experts for content validity; and (2) a mathematics achievement test consisting of 36 objective items. The test underwent two rounds of item analysis for difficulty and discrimination. The results indicated that 35 items achieved an acceptable discrimination index (D ≥ 0.25) and an average difficulty index of P = 0.77, with an Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) index of 1.00, and (3) a set of critical thinking assessment criteria encompassing five dimensions, also validated by experts and achieving an IOC index of 1.00. Data were collected over three weeks between March and April 2024, with five hours of instruction per week, totaling 15 hours, and pre- and post-tests were administered. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, as well as inferential statistics using a paired sample t-test at the significance level of α=0.05.
The findings were:
1) After participating in project-based learning, students’ mathematics achievement significantly increased (t = -16.32, p < 0.05), and
2) Students’ critical thinking skills were found to be at a moderate level (= 2.15, S.D.=0.52). The highest dimension was evaluation (
=2.37, S.D.=0.34), followed by reasoning (
=2.31, S.D.=0.34) and analysis (
=2.29, S.D.=0.45), reflecting students’ ability to apply analytical thinking and decision-making processes appropriately within the learning activities.
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