Page 59 - Pedagoška vizija / A Pedagogical Vision

Exploring the Content of Cultural Heritage through Project-Based Learning

further stressed that ‘students needed to carefully listen to the interviewees’
answers and go for the relevant and most interesting ones,’ ‘they needed
to meticulously lay out the plan if they wanted to succeed within the time
frame’ and ‘they needed to decide upon criteria of how to organize them-
selves.’ One of the evaluators seemed to be touched by the message: ‘The
documentary clearly shows that the students got to understand the impor-
tance the topic carries for the present because they connected it with their
values. It has a message and evokes a critical reflection from the viewer. One
cannot remain indifferent.’
Lastly, they also emphasized the mentors’ role. One of the evaluators
wrote, ‘If it hadn’t been for the mentors’ guidance and friendly rapport with
the students, I doubt the final result would be so impressive. The students
needed first to recognize the importance of the content. Had they not been
captivated, their motivation wouldn’t have been boosted and they wouldn’t
have engaged themselves in the project.’ One comment referred to the im-
portance of the teacher’s encouragement to critically approach the task. ‘I
think it was this that made the change. They asked themselves about how to
proceed, what needed to be changed, how else to approach [the task] and
finally, they also needed to verbalize the insights they gained.’

The Impact of PBL on Students’ Lives
As project work assignments facilitate experiential learning, the inquiry fo-
cused on determining whether immersion in the topic through project work
activities had any transformative effects on students’ lives. All their answers
werepositive.Theywrotethatculturalheritage‘hasgainedimportanceinmy
life,’ ‘I think of it more often,’ ‘I see its presence in my life, in my community,’
‘without heritage we would be a nation without identity’ and ‘I’m aware of
the power past events and achievements have on the present situation.’ One
also reflected on the ways his schoolmates regard heritage, saying, ‘Heritage
is quite an alienated topic among the youth in general, many think of it as
something boring and outdated.’
They also talked about heritage in connection with current societal trends,
saying, ‘People used to care for each other more, now the emphasis is on car-
ing for an individual’s well-being.’ Also, ‘People used to live a lot more sus-
tainably, they produced the amounts they needed and used waste in other
ways,’ and ‘They needed to invest more effort into making everyday products
and so they appreciated them more.’ All in all, they conclude that ‘we are less
happyevenifwehavemore,’and ‘wetake the privileges forgranted,’ butof
course ‘it all depends on the individual’s upbringing.’

59