View in EDS

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in College Biology Education for the Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in College Biology Education for the Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Language: English
Authors: Mia Nurkanti, Maesaroh Lubis, Cartono, Atok Miftachul Hudha, Ahmad Adnan Mohd Shukri, Yasundari
Source: Educational Process: International Journal. Article e2025463 2025 18.
Availability: UNIVERSITEPARK Limited. iTOWER Plaza (No61, 9th floor) Merkez Mh Akar Cd No3, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey 34382. e-mail: editor@edupij.com; Web site: http://www.edupij.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Information Analyses
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Active Learning, Student Projects, College Science, Biology, Thinking Skills, Skill Development, Instructional Effectiveness, Undergraduate Students
ISSN: 2147-0901
2564-8020
Abstract: Background/purpose. Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) development represents a critical challenge in biology higher education. While Project-Based Learning (PjBL) shows promise, empirical evidence remains fragmented across individual studies. This meta-analysis systematically synthesized evidence on PjBL effectiveness in developing HOTS among biology students and explored moderating factors influencing outcomes. Materials/methods. A comprehensive literature search across five databases following PRISMA guidelines yielded 2,847 records. Rigorous screening identified 42 high-quality experimental studies encompassing 5,247 undergraduate biology students across 18 countries. Meta-analytic procedures included standardized mean differences calculation, heterogeneity assessment, moderator analyses, and publication bias evaluation. Results. Meta-analytic synthesis revealed a large overall effect size (d = 0.847, 95% CI: 0.692-1.002, p < 0.001) favoring PjBL interventions over traditional instruction methods. Domain-specific analyses demonstrated consistently large effects across cognitive (d = 0.923), psychomotor (d = 0.862), and affective (d = 0.756) dimensions of HOTS development. Moderate heterogeneity (I[superscript 2] = 68.4%) reflected meaningful variation in implementation approaches while maintaining coherence sufficient for pooled estimation. Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness of findings across different study characteristics, with no evidence of significant publication bias detected through funnel plot analysis and statistical testing. Conclusion. This meta-analysis provides compelling evidence that Project-Based Learning represents a highly effective pedagogical intervention for developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in biology higher education contexts. The large, consistent, and robust effects observed across multiple domains and diverse implementation contexts support widespread adoption of well-designed PjBL interventions as a transformative strategy for preparing biology students to meet contemporary scientific challenges and collaborative problem-solving requirements.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1485543
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ1485543
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1485543
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in College Biology Education for the Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Mia+Nurkanti%22&quot;&gt;Mia Nurkanti&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Maesaroh+Lubis%22&quot;&gt;Maesaroh Lubis&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Cartono%22&quot;&gt;Cartono&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Atok+Miftachul+Hudha%22&quot;&gt;Atok Miftachul Hudha&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Ahmad+Adnan+Mohd+Shukri%22&quot;&gt;Ahmad Adnan Mohd Shukri&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Yasundari%22&quot;&gt;Yasundari&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;SO&quot; term=&quot;%22Educational+Process%3A+International+Journal%22&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Educational Process: International Journal&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/searchLink&gt;. Article e2025463 2025 18.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: UNIVERSITEPARK Limited. iTOWER Plaza (No61, 9th floor) Merkez Mh Akar Cd No3, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey 34382. e-mail: editor@edupij.com; Web site: http://www.edupij.com/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 19
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles&lt;br /&gt;Information Analyses&lt;br /&gt;Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;EL&quot; term=&quot;%22Higher+Education%22&quot;&gt;Higher Education&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;EL&quot; term=&quot;%22Postsecondary+Education%22&quot;&gt;Postsecondary Education&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Active+Learning%22&quot;&gt;Active Learning&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Student+Projects%22&quot;&gt;Student Projects&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22College+Science%22&quot;&gt;College Science&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Biology%22&quot;&gt;Biology&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Thinking+Skills%22&quot;&gt;Thinking Skills&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Skill+Development%22&quot;&gt;Skill Development&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Instructional+Effectiveness%22&quot;&gt;Instructional Effectiveness&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Undergraduate+Students%22&quot;&gt;Undergraduate Students&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 2147-0901&lt;br /&gt;2564-8020
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background/purpose. Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) development represents a critical challenge in biology higher education. While Project-Based Learning (PjBL) shows promise, empirical evidence remains fragmented across individual studies. This meta-analysis systematically synthesized evidence on PjBL effectiveness in developing HOTS among biology students and explored moderating factors influencing outcomes. Materials/methods. A comprehensive literature search across five databases following PRISMA guidelines yielded 2,847 records. Rigorous screening identified 42 high-quality experimental studies encompassing 5,247 undergraduate biology students across 18 countries. Meta-analytic procedures included standardized mean differences calculation, heterogeneity assessment, moderator analyses, and publication bias evaluation. Results. Meta-analytic synthesis revealed a large overall effect size (d = 0.847, 95% CI: 0.692-1.002, p &lt; 0.001) favoring PjBL interventions over traditional instruction methods. Domain-specific analyses demonstrated consistently large effects across cognitive (d = 0.923), psychomotor (d = 0.862), and affective (d = 0.756) dimensions of HOTS development. Moderate heterogeneity (I[superscript 2] = 68.4%) reflected meaningful variation in implementation approaches while maintaining coherence sufficient for pooled estimation. Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness of findings across different study characteristics, with no evidence of significant publication bias detected through funnel plot analysis and statistical testing. Conclusion. This meta-analysis provides compelling evidence that Project-Based Learning represents a highly effective pedagogical intervention for developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in biology higher education contexts. The large, consistent, and robust effects observed across multiple domains and diverse implementation contexts support widespread adoption of well-designed PjBL interventions as a transformative strategy for preparing biology students to meet contemporary scientific challenges and collaborative problem-solving requirements.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1485543
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1485543
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Active Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Projects
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College Science
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Biology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thinking Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Skill Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Effectiveness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Undergraduate Students
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in College Biology Education for the Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mia Nurkanti
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Maesaroh Lubis
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Cartono
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Atok Miftachul Hudha
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ahmad Adnan Mohd Shukri
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yasundari
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 2147-0901
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 2564-8020
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 18
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Educational Process: International Journal
              Type: main
ResultId 1