Learning by Doing Active Social Learning

Abstract

Project-based learning and future-based pedagogy are important and effective tools for teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. They are especially suited to instilling social activism among students, which is extremely valuable in today’s multicultural society. This study examined the impact of such learning among Arab and Jewish students and teachers in Israel. Following a collaborative program on social activism, in which students from different sectors worked together via digital platforms and face-to-face encounters, the impact of the program and its pedagogical tools were examined. The program, called Living in a Multicultural Society, reflects the mosaic of different people and communities, living side by side yet separated by religion, culture, and language. Through this program, students who may not have otherwise met worked together to learn, research, and create. This study was conducted using the mixed-method approach, whereby the qualitative data were gathered via interviews, and the quantitative data were collected through questionnaires. The findings show that this project-based learning program led to significant encounters, understandings, and co-operations between different sectors, and to meaningful end-products relating to social activism. This study enhances the concept that significant pedagogical processes increase students’ motivation, in-depth learning, and outcomes.