Project-Based Learning as a Pedagogical Tool in Teaching the Safe Management of Pesticides in an Agricultural-Rural Community

Abstract

Project-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method that has proven effective in stimulating student learning through meaningful experiences that focus on solving problems, many of which are part of the learners' everyday lives. Therefore, this research aimed to use PBL as a pedagogical tool to identify environmental problems caused by the inefficient use of pesticides in agricultural communities by implementing and developing a school research project in natural sciences. To achieve the objective, we use a direct sample of 80 students (66.3% girls) aged between 15 and 17 with an average age of 16.1 (SD = 70), and an indirect sample of 338 agricultural workers (57.20% men) aged between 17 and 61, with an average age of 26.9 (SD = 11.12). Our results showed that the PBL is an adequate tool to teach content situated in the population's needs and be adequate to educate rural populations informally. This pedagogical strategy can improve the environmental awareness of the students through their participation in the community. Educational and socio-community implications are discussed