Exploring Students perceptions of their learning experience and self efficacy in physics online class with project based learning

This phenomenological study utilizes Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore how ten students perceive their learning experiences and self-efficacy in an online Physics course utilizing Project-Based Learning, revealing four key themes that offer insights for educators on accommodating diverse student personalities in digital environments.

The Gist

Imagine you are a chef trying to teach a group of aspiring cooks how to make a complex dish. In the old days (traditional learning), you would stand at the front of the kitchen, lecture them on the chemistry of heat, and hand them a recipe book. They would memorize the steps but never actually touch the stove.

In this study, the researchers tried something different: Project-Based Learning (PBL). Instead of just listening, the students had to cook the dish themselves. They had to design the menu, buy the ingredients, and actually plate the meal. But here's the twist: they were doing this entirely online, through a screen, and the researchers wanted to know: How did the students feel about this? Did they gain confidence (self-efficacy) in their cooking skills?

Here is a simple breakdown of what the paper found, using some everyday analogies.

1. The Setup: A Long-Term Cooking Class

The researchers didn't just watch these students for a week. They followed them for two years (four semesters) as they moved from their third year to their final year of university. It was like following a group of apprentices from their first day of chopping onions to their final day of running a restaurant.

The "kitchen" was an online classroom (Google Classroom). The "recipes" were physics projects, like designing a lesson plan for high schoolers or creating a physics experiment.

2. The Main Discovery: Everyone Tastes the Food Differently

The biggest finding of the study is that personality matters. Just like some people love spicy food and others hate it, the students reacted to this "cooking" style of learning in very different ways based on who they were.

The researchers identified four main "flavors" of experience:

A. The "Personal Recipe" (Unique Characters)

Every student brought their own "ingredients" to the table.

• The Impatient Leader: One student (let's call her "Indi") wanted everything done now. She hated waiting. But when she became the group leader, she realized she had to set an example. She learned that being a leader isn't about speed; it's about patience and guiding others.
• The Quiet Observer: Another student ("Zahra") was very shy. She usually stayed in the back of the room. But PBL forced her to talk to her group. At first, it felt like being asked to sing on stage with no microphone! But over time, she realized that cooking together helped her learn how to speak up.
• The Creative Dreamer: Some students loved the freedom to be creative. They felt like artists given a blank canvas. They didn't want strict rules; they wanted to invent their own sauces.

B. The "Catalyst" (The Spark that Changed Things)

The study found that certain moments acted like a spark plug in a car engine, getting the students moving.

• The Weekly Check-in: The teacher didn't just wait for the final exam. They asked for progress updates every week. This was like a coach checking in on a runner every Tuesday. It stopped students from procrastinating and made them realize, "Oh, I need to keep running, not just start and stop."
• The "Aha!" Moment: When students realized their projects (like a lesson plan they made) could actually be used in a real school, it was like realizing their practice cooking was good enough to serve to customers. That made them feel proud and capable.

C. The "Confidence Meter" (Self-Efficacy)

The researchers asked the students to rate their own confidence on a scale of 1 to 4.

• The "Zero to Hero" Story: One student started feeling like she knew nothing (a 0). By the end, she felt she had learned a lot (a 2.5). Even though she wasn't a "perfect" chef yet, the fact that she moved from zero to something felt like a huge victory.
• The "I Can Do More" Story: Other students rated themselves high (a 4), but they still said, "I can do even better." They realized that confidence isn't about being perfect; it's about knowing you have the skills to keep improving.

D. The "Reflection" (Looking Back at the Menu)

At the end of the journey, the students looked back at their messy kitchen and realized they had grown up.

• They learned that copying a friend's homework (plagiarism) was like eating someone else's food—you don't get the nutrition (knowledge).
• They realized that being a teacher is hard work, but they were now ready for it.
• They learned that even when they felt overwhelmed or wanted to quit, pushing through made them stronger.

3. The Online vs. Offline Debate

The study also looked at the "kitchen environment."

• Offline (In-person): Some students felt more energetic when they were in the same room. It was like cooking with friends in a real kitchen; you could high-five each other and get motivated instantly.
• Online (Virtual): Other students, especially the shy ones, felt safer cooking in their own homes. They could pause the video, rewind the recipe, and work at their own pace without feeling watched. However, they also struggled with "bad internet connections" (like a gas stove that keeps flickering out).

The Bottom Line

This paper tells us that Project-Based Learning is like a gym for the brain, but it works differently for everyone.

• For some, it's a heavy weightlifting session that builds muscle (confidence) quickly.
• For others, it's a yoga class that helps them find balance and flexibility (social skills).

The researchers concluded that teachers shouldn't just use one "recipe" for everyone. They need to understand that a student's personality (whether they are shy, impatient, or creative) changes how they experience the learning. By mixing PBL with good feedback and understanding these personalities, teachers can help students not just learn physics, but believe in their ability to solve problems in the real world.

In short: When you let students cook their own meals (projects) instead of just reading the menu, they might burn a few dishes at first, but they eventually learn how to run the whole kitchen.

Technical Summary

1. Problem Statement and Research Gap

While Project-Based Learning (PBL) is widely recognized for improving academic achievement, motivation, and self-efficacy in Physics Education Research (PER), existing literature suffers from specific limitations:

• Methodological Limitation: Most prior studies rely on quantitative approaches (experimental designs, surveys, meta-analyses) that measure statistical changes but fail to capture the depth of students' subjective lived experiences.
• Contextual Gap: There is a lack of comprehensive investigation into how students perceive PBL specifically within online learning environments, which have become increasingly prevalent.
• Longitudinal Deficit: Previous studies often lack long-term observation (e.g., spanning only 3 weeks to 3 months), missing the evolution of self-efficacy and learning perceptions over time.
• Design Specificity: Few studies detail the specific PBL designs preferred by students or the nuanced challenges they face during implementation.

Objective: To uncover the lived experiences of students in an online Physics PBL environment over a two-year period, focusing on their perceptions of self-efficacy, preferred PBL designs, and the benefits/challenges encountered.

2. Methodology

The study employs a qualitative phenomenological approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

• Research Design: Longitudinal observation over four semesters (two years) involving online Physics education courses.
• Participants:
  • Sample Size: 10 undergraduate students (7 from the 6th semester, 3 from the 4th semester) from Physics Education programs at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta.
  • Demographics: All participants were female (a noted limitation).
  • Selection Criteria: Active participation in PBL-based courses taught by the first author; voluntary consent for in-depth interviews.
• Setting: Five interrelated courses (e.g., Development of Physics Lesson Plan, Physics Learning Strategies) conducted entirely online via Google Classroom, utilizing both synchronous (Zoom) and asynchronous modes.
• Data Collection:
  • Semi-structured, in-depth interviews (50–65 minutes) conducted via Zoom.
  • Focus on personal experiences, character traits, self-efficacy perceptions, and specific PBL design elements.
• Data Analysis:
  • Transcription and anonymization of interview data.
  • Analysis using ATLAS.ti 25 software.
  • IPA Process: Following a four-step iterative process: (1) Familiarization (repeated reading), (2) Initial noting (descriptive, linguistic, conceptual comments), (3) Developing emergent themes, and (4) Creating superordinate themes.
• Theoretical Frameworks:
  1. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT): Bandura (1986) – focusing on the reciprocal relationship between person, environment, and behavior.
  2. Self-Efficacy Theory: Bandura (1977) – focusing on confidence in task completion.
  3. Theoretical Framework for PBL Impact: Zhang & Ma (2023) – covering process, features, abilities, moderators, and learning effects.

3. Key Contributions

• Qualitative Depth: Shifts the discourse from quantitative metrics of self-efficacy to a rich, idiographic understanding of how students interpret their learning journeys.
• Longitudinal Insight: Provides evidence of how self-efficacy and perceptions evolve over two years (four semesters) of continuous PBL implementation, rather than a snapshot.
• Personality-Context Interaction: Demonstrates how individual personality traits (e.g., introversion, impatience, optimism) interact with online PBL structures to create unique learning experiences.
• Online PBL Design Guidelines: Offers specific, student-validated design elements (e.g., weekly progress monitoring, video resources, clear scheduling) that optimize online PBL.

4. Results

The analysis identified four primary superordinate themes:

Theme 1: Variety of Unique Learning Experiences Based on Character

Students interpreted PBL differently based on their self-perceived characters:

• Leadership & Impatience: Students like "Indi" (impatient) found the coordinator role challenging but learned to set examples for peers.
• Introversion: "Zahra" (introverted) initially struggled with group collaboration and expressing opinions but viewed PBL as a catalyst for developing social skills necessary for future teaching.
• Self-Interest & Creativity: "Gea" preferred projects allowing individual creativity (e.g., designing learning modules) over rigid group constraints.
• Online vs. Offline: While some preferred offline for mutual encouragement, introverts often felt safer and more focused in online settings, despite technical challenges (internet stability).

Theme 2: Pivotal Experience as a Catalyst

Specific PBL design elements acted as catalysts for learning:

• Periodic Progress Reporting: Weekly deadlines forced discipline and consistency, transforming relaxed students into agile learners.
• Teacher Monitoring & Feedback: Regular teacher comments on individual/group products allowed students to self-correct and reduced plagiarism.
• Resource Accessibility: Accessible video lectures and materials allowed students to review content repeatedly, aiding understanding.
• Real-World Application: Creating tangible products (lesson plans, experiments) that were later used in teaching practicums provided a sense of purpose and validation.

Theme 3: Student Self-Efficacy in PBL

Self-efficacy perceptions varied but showed a general trend of growth:

• Self-Rating: Students rated their efficacy on a scale of 1–4.
  • Low Ratings (2–2.5): Students felt they still had much to learn or started from a baseline of "zero" confidence, viewing any improvement as significant.
  • High Ratings (4): Students felt they had mastered new skills and produced optimal results.
• Growth Mechanism: The "learning by doing" approach, combined with overcoming technical and collaborative hurdles, gradually built confidence. Even students who felt overwhelmed initially realized they could succeed through persistence.

Theme 4: Self-Reflection Based on Prior Experience

Reflection was the final stage of the PBL syntax, leading to maturity:

• Shift in Perspective: Students moved from relying solely on grades to valuing the learning process and character development.
• Anti-Plagiarism Realization: Students realized that copying work hindered understanding, whereas doing it themselves fostered genuine mastery.
• Professional Identity: Reflections on the difficulty of teaching (simulated in class) prepared them for their future roles as educators.

5. Significance and Implications

• For Educators: Teachers must recognize that student character significantly influences how PBL is perceived. Strategies should be flexible to accommodate introverts (who may prefer online safety) and extroverts (who thrive on offline interaction).
• For PBL Design in Online Settings:
  • Implement strict but supportive progress monitoring (weekly check-ins).
  • Provide multimodal resources (videos + text) to support diverse learning paces.
  • Ensure clear division of labor to prevent "free-riding" and manage group dynamics.
• For Policy: The study validates PBL as an effective strategy for pre-service teachers, not just for theoretical knowledge but for developing metacognitive skills, discipline, and professional identity.
• Future Research: Suggests the need for mixed-method studies including male participants and the use of Learning Analytics (LA) to track engagement with online PBL resources.

Conclusion: The study concludes that while PBL in online physics classes presents challenges (technical issues, group coordination), it serves as a powerful catalyst for developing self-efficacy and professional maturity. The "lived experience" of students reveals that the value of PBL lies not just in the final product, but in the iterative process of reflection, discipline, and character building.