Learning History in Middle School by Designing Multimedia in a Project-Based Learning Experience. A Critical Review

Literature Review from the year 2022 in the subject Pedagogy - School Pedagogics, grade: Post graduate studies, Bahir Dar University, course: History Education, language: English, abstract: The focus of this critical review is a research article titled 'Learning History in the Middle School by Designing Multimedia in a Project-Based Learning Experience'. The study investigates the effectiveness of project-based learning (PBL) with the integration of multimedia technology to teach history to grade eight students in Northern California, USA. The research is conducted using a quasi-experimental research design. Through gathering and analyzing quantitative data, the researchers attempted to explore the effect of technology-assisted PBL on the students' content knowledge, historical thinking skills, and attitudes about history education. The findings of the review show that the study is corroborated by the previous research works and theory, and the findings are open for replication in other school environments. Moreover, the study instigates history teachers and educators in other social science fields to conduct experimental research in their respective fields. The study also suggests history teachers to adapt the use of technology-assisted PBL as the main instructional strategy to teach history to enhance students' achievement in their understanding, thinking, and appreciation of historical information.

My name is Yimegnutal Nibret. I was born in Dangila, Gojjam in northwestern Ethiopia in 1982. I completed my primary and secondary education at Dangila. I studied and completed my B.Ed. degree in history at Mekelle University in 2008. Then I proceed with my MA study at the department of History of Bahir Dar University and completed it in 2016. Now, I am attending my postgraduate study at Bahir Dar University in the field of History education at the doctoral level. My principal research interests lie in the fields of the educational, social, and cultural history of Ethiopia.