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.

1. Introduction

This chapter discusses the unique project-based learning (PBL) program called Living in a Multicultural Society, in which both Jewish and Arab elementary school students in Israel participate and cooperate. With a focus on social activism, the project strives to develop and instill the twenty-first-century learning skills in students – i.e., future-based learning skills that incorporate social, technological, environmental, economic, and political (STEEP) aspects [1, 2, 3]. After presenting this special project, this paper evaluates the project’s contribution to social activism, i.e., the social and moral call-for action, and reflects on learning concepts that stem from the assumption that the key to deep learning is practical experience, also known as learning by doing. To the best of our knowledge, previous research has not examined the impact of project-based learning or future-based pedagogy on the social activism of learners.

2. Learning in the twenty-first century

In light of the significant social and technological changes and developments that have occurred worldwide, learning today requires skills that were not previously needed. On a global level, we face unprecedented social, economic, and environmental challenges that are driven by accelerated globalization processes and fast technological developments. By 2030, students who entered the education system, 2018–2020, will be young adults. As such, schools need to prepare them for life in an era of uncertainty and an unclear future; the labor market will require skills and tools that have not yet been created, as well as solution to problems that have not yet been predicted. To successfully navigate through such uncertainty, today’s students must develop curiosity, imagination, mental resilience, and self-control; they must learn to evaluate different concepts and perspectives for dealing with interdisciplinary issues. These students also need to be motivated, possess tools for self-learning, and be able to manage their time and resources. In other words, the twenty-first century learner must acquire both humane and technological know-how, with an emphasis on differential-personal development, technology-based tools, and higher-order thinking capabilities [4, 5, 6].

The education system must, therefore, teach students to become initiating agents – a term that refers to their ability to act independently, out of interest and curiosity. It is this concept that underlies today’s education systems in the west, as seen in the Future of Education and Skills 2030 Project¹ presented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The project seeks answers to two far-fetched questions: (1) Which skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values do today’s students need to thrive and shape their world? and (2) How can learning systems effectively develop these skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values? Education systems around the world must therefore embark on interdisciplinary teaching that is based on research and problem solving while instilling self-learning skills among the students.

Furthermore, in order to be both effective and relevant, learning programs in today’s multicultural societies must combine both social activism and future-based learning [7]. Harpaz [8] states that “teaching should be an inspiring practice, a life-giving activity that can exist only in light of excellence, morality, and involvement” (52). In line with this statement, teaching today should be based on three Es: excellence, engagement, and ethics [9]. Moreover, the main dimensions underlying today’s learning process include learning by doing, curiosity-stimulating learning, and glocalism – a blend of global and local [2]. In other words, it is the imparting of social and learning skills that shape the profile of the desired learner in the twenty-first century [2].

For lifelong learning to take place, learners must acquire skills with a technological/digital orientation, develop the ability to identify and evaluate learning possibilities, learn independently, and manage their learning – while developing the meta-cognitive ability for analyzing the given learning method. To achieve such a learning process, teachers must assist learners in identifying and choosing the most suitable learning options to suit their learning styles and objectives, monitor their progress, and assist them when problems arise. As such, schools must function as a learning-oriented center that provides learners with guidance and support in identifying learning possibilities and choosing learning services that suit the specific time and place [10]. Studies show that in the near future, teachers will use more than one medium in their lessons (e.g., [6, 11, 12]). Incorporating technology in teaching enables multi-modal teaching, new and updated curricula, and rich online research and collaborations; moreover, it allows students to become much more engaged in constructing their own knowledge, and cognitive studies [13].

3. The desired learner and meaningful learning

In today’s post-modern era, education systems should aspire to create a graduate who incorporates three main components: the socialized graduate, the civilized graduate, and the realized graduate. The first refers to graduates who possess the ability to fulfill social functions; the second relates to graduates whose values, qualities, and attitudes are similar to those in the culture in which they study; and the third component relates to people who have acquired the necessary skills and capabilities for learning and working in the twenty-first century ([14]; Amzalag & Masry-Herzallah 2021).

The major twenty-first century skills that the student must require during his/her school study are the following: nurturing social relationships, leadership, creativity, critical thinking (Ghafar, 2020), problem-solving [15], self-managed learning, teamwork, interpersonal communication and reflection [16], computational perspectives, cognitive skills, collaborative skills, and creative problem-solving skills [17]. We also argue that these skills can be transferred from a learning context to a real-world context [18]. Moreover, learners, today should be curious people who have a strong desire to know, understand, and influence others; students who are aware of their own perceptions and attitudes, and are able to define and realize their goals. Learners must acquire skills and strategies for finding and processing information, asking questions, combining different information sources, presenting arguments, critically evaluating information, and learning through the media channels of the twenty-first century. These learners will then acquire a sense of self-efficacy and the desire to realize their capabilities and express themselves creatively. There will be learners who are able to create social relationships, conduct respectful discourse, and work as part of a team while interacting with the environment [2].

Data, from around the world, indicate that students achieve meaningful deep learning when they are able to transfer knowledge from the classroom to solving authentic problems, and when they participate in projects that require continuous involvement and cooperation with their classmates and with others. The ability to transfer these skills from a learning context to a real-world context, and to implement them successfully is one of the main twenty-first century skills. Nakakoji & Wilson [18] investigated the process of skill transfer in problem-solving, via students’ “think-aloud” processes. Think-aloud processes show recursive use of interpretation, integration, and planning and execution of thinking processes, and highlight the meta-cognitive strategies used in the transfer. They argued that the perspective of academics and students on skill transfer is important to optimize twenty-first century learning and that more attention to the concept of skill transfer is needed. A collaborative learning project enhances such skills in the student learning process.

Active learning (i.e., learning by doing) impacts learners’ outcomes far more than any other variable, including their background and previous achievements. Students’ achievements are better when they are taught how and what to learn. In their review of the research, Barron and Darling-Hammond [19] write that decades of research around the world show that inquiry-based and cooperative learning contribute to developing the knowledge and skills that are needed for students to succeed in our constantly changing world. Such learning is an inseparable part of learners’ training process in the twenty-first century (Sulam, Syakur & Musyarofah, 2019; [5]).

4. Social activism and STEEP learning

Social activism relates to the development of students’ self-esteem and identity in areas such as human rights and responsibility [20]. In the 21st century, changes in society are accompanied by changes in values, at both a local and global level [2]. New values ​may include individualism and individual empowerment, rather than collectivism which was an important value in the past. Moreover, values such as social responsibility, ethics, transparency, accountability, human and civil rights, and fairness are the basis of fruitful contributions to the community [21].

In education systems, integrating these values ​into the learning process has been found to be directly linked to social activism and to the development of learners’ abilities to thrive in a multicultural society [22]. Through the mutual collaboration of both students and teachers, social initiatives can be created to reflect their personal and civic responsibility, respectfulness, and fairness within the school-community relationship. This type of learning is one of the main STEEP milestones, which enables life-wide learning [6, 10, 23]. STEEP-oriented learning refers to the use of a range of computerized tools for teaching and learning purposes combined with the students’ ability to identify and utilize these during the learning process. This provides students with an opportunity to research and learn a subject from a variety of viewpoints, based on each student’s own learning characteristics, including trial and error, feasibility, collaborations, and facilitating knowledge [2, 24].

Social activism projects provide an educational experience that incorporates future-based pedagogy, such as the STEEP method and PBL, and implements them in the learning processes and end results. Social activism can become a learning topic through solving problems and executing initiatives that pose significant and authentic challenges for students, derived from our ever-changing environment. Learners can participate in social and community projects, on a local or global level, and then present their participation and outcomes to colleagues, fellow students, students, and other interested parties [25].

5. Leveraging social activism through future-based learning

Future-based learning (such as STEEP) is both individual and social oriented, develops day-to-day skills and teaching-learning methods, expands learning resources, encourages involvement in the community, and entails the use of innovative technologies [26]. Moreover, future-based learning moves the focus of education from the students’ compliance with strict curricula to their active contribution to their studying, learning how to learn, and accessing necessary information [27]. In pluralistic societies, such active learning processes emphasize acceptance and diversity. One key aspect of creating a fruitful platform for multicultural learning is using innovative teaching and learning strategies [28]. In general, innovation in teaching is expressed through various learning methods that encourage the students’ self-direction toward active and meaningful learning. Teachers using such methods tend to involve students as partners in the learning and knowledge self-construction processes. The learning process is based on teamwork, significant assignments, time planning, and practical experience related to multicultural subjects. Moreover, PBL develops and enhances students’ independence and self-efficacy [29].

With regards to social activism projects, future-based learning encourages diversity and enables students to express their own personal opinions and attitudes. This flexibility is also reflected in the teacher’s willingness to give each student an opportunity to express and emphasize their own interest and uniqueness [30]. Teachers who maintain the learners’ involvement throughout the study process (using the PBL method) and use thought-provoking questions promote speculation and doubts. The outcome is an integration of knowledge, new information, and higher-order thinking skills among the learner (Lohman 2002; [31]). In addition, future-based learning methods provide students with the freedom and opportunity to present various options for solving problems and encourage the development of critical and diversified attitudes among students [29, 32].

Nowadays, students are expected to be able to combine social learning, technology, and higher-order thinking skills. To do so, they must be exposed to twenty-first-century skills, including information and communication literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, and creative and innovative thinking [33, 34]. Digital platforms enable multidimensional communications, collaborations, and teamwork. These socially oriented aspects require students to be able to share information and knowledge with their peers [35] and develop interpersonal functioning, whereby they are able to conduct interpersonal communications with respect, sensitivity, tolerance, and consideration [6, 23, 36].

The education system in Israel, led by the Ministry of Education, designed structured frameworks based on STEEP skills and research concepts (2008)². These frameworks aim at ensuring graduates become curious, critical, independent learners who can make educated decisions and have the skills to be team players. Research-based learning will be an element in the school culture, encompassed in the teaching, learning, and evaluation processes. Students will acquire research skills while practicing a range of research processes throughout their school. These research skills will be included in a range of topics and each student must conduct at least two research studies each year.

6. Living in a multicultural society PBL learning project

The aim of PBL is to provide students with a meaningful experience through active learning. While this concept is far from new, it is invaluable in today’s fast-paced and advanced world. This type of learning requires students to investigate and make decisions based on collaboration and end products [37]. In this paper, the PBL examined is the Living in a Multicultural Society Project in which Jewish and Arab students from elementary schools participated. This project integrated STEEP future-based learning methods for promoting social activism, enhancing teamwork skills, and creating social initiatives, while increasing personal and civic responsibility, mutual respect, and fairness among its participants. In other words, this PBL provided a platform for significant and valuable learning combined with practical experience, i.e., learning by doing.

In the multicultural and multi-identity society that is typical of Israel, this project provided a unique opportunity for students from different sectors to meet and become acquainted with one another. Schools from different sectors were paired up, such as a Jewish school and an Arab one, or a Jewish school and a Druze one. Every few weeks, the students from the paired school either met in person or talked via a digital platform such as Skype, to work on joint activity. The sessions dealt with issues such as friendship, accepting others, pluralism, and multiculturalism. Moreover, each pair of schools collaborated to prepare an artifact relating to social activism at the end of the project, such as a poster, talk, or presentation.

Integrating PBL learning activities onto digital platforms, as with this project, enables a meaningful dialog between students, teachers, communities, and cultures. It encourages creative thinking, strong leadership, and effective learning methods. Throughout the project, collaborative team learning was used to encourage meaningful dialogs and cooperation between the participants. Moreover, the product of each team enabled the students to reflect on their work and cooperation and on the attitudes and outlooks of others – in both a verbal and non-verbal means of communication.

The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the contribution of this PBL project, which incorporated future-based and STEEP learning methods, to the developing and enhancing of social activism among the participating students and teachers. In the project, which was based on Curriculum for Changing the World [38], the concept of future-based learning was applied through online platforms and the social involvement of young school students.

7. The research

Research Questions.

The study examined two central research questions:

1. To what extent do future-based learning and pedagogy contribute to:

   1. The development of social awareness and social activism among students in a multicultural society.

   2. Building a network of cooperation between students from different sectors.

   3. Building a network of cooperation between teachers from different sectors.

2. Are there differences in the contribution of these future-based learning and pedagogy between the various populations who participated in the study?

8. Methodology

8.1 Participants

Living in a Multicultural Society Project was conducted throughout the 2017−2018 academic year. A non-probabilistic sampling process was performed, the sampling was constructed from all project participants, 73% of the students answered the questionnaire, and 100% of the teachers participated in the project.

About 856 elementary school students and 32 teachers from 32 different schools took part in the project. At the end of the project, 622 students and all 32 teachers took part in an evaluation process, to assess the impact of the project on social activism.

The 32 teachers included 16 Arab teachers and 16 Jewish teachers. The Arab teachers included four Druze teachers, three Christian teachers, and nine Muslim teachers. Each teacher was from a different school across Israel: 16 from the center of the country, 10 from the northern region, and six schools from the south. On average, the participating teachers had been teaching for 14.3 years.

In addition to the teachers, 622 students participated in the study: 264 Jewish students (42%) and 358 Arab students (58%). The Arab population included 19 students from a Druze school and 17 students from a Circassian one. All students were from grades four−six. The Jewish students were from eight Jewish schools, and the Arab students were from six Arab schools, one Druze school, and one Circassian school.

8.2 Research tools

The study included a closed questionnaire for students and teachers, that was validated by two inspectors in the Ministry of Education and two school principals who were partners in the planning of the project. Students filled out a questionnaire composed of 29 items from six indices, as detailed in Table 1. Items were rated on an agreement scale from 1 = (does not agree at all) to 5 = (agrees to a great extent), and scale scores were computed with mean of the items. The teachers were presented with 42 items from 9 indices as shown in Table 2. The teachers were asked to rate each item on a 1–5 scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = To a great extent).

dices and examples of items from students’ questionnaire (N = 622)Indices	No. of Items	Sample Item	Cronbach’s α
Studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.	7	Introducing PBL methods in studying human rights/social activism with students from other schools.	0.69
The impact of the project on raising awareness of social activism.	5	The digital environment helps promote interest and diversifies learning about social activism.	0.81
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).	6	Please write which communication tools you used during the program (e.g., WhatsApp, email, Skype).	0.72
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.	6	Which activities would you like to do with students from the other group (e.g., design a digital project together, take a virtual tour of their school, meet via video conferencing to learn together)?	0.84
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.	5	Which activities were most meaningful to you during the program (e.g., participating in a forum about multicultural acceptance, school meetings with students from another school, working together on a digital platform)?	0.73
Program evaluation (i.e., average of all indices)	3	What are the benefits of the project to your learning skills?	0.68

Table 1.

Questionnaire indices, sample items, and internal consistency (N = 622).

Index	No. of Items	Sample Item	Cronbach’s α
Teaching social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.	4	To what extent did the project contribute to developing strategies for processing information among the learners?	0.95
The impact of the project on raising awareness of social activism.	4	To what extent can your students apply values relating to the acceptance of others learned and acquired during the program?	0.50
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).	12	Throughout the project, a range of technological tools were used for creating a range of end products (e.g., computerized terminology maps, computerized poster designs, collaborative tools).	0.84
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.	2	To what extent did your students acquire skills for conducting discourse and discussions in mixed groups, following their participation in the project?	0.53
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.	3	To what extent does the joint end product reflect the attitudes and perception of innovative learning (e.g., glocal, personal, conducting research, combining technology)?	0.63
The impact and value of the project regarding interactions between teachers from different sectors.	5	To what extent did the project provide a platform for getting to know the “other” beside what was required from the project (e.g., personal get-togethers)?	0.95
Changes in the teachers’ teaching methods following their experience and participation in the project.	6	To what extent did you change your perception of the role of the learner as an active participant rather than a passive one?	0.48
Added value for other members of staff who did not participate in the program.	3	To what extent where the project contents principles explained and distributed to other teachers in the school who did not participate in the project?	0.90
Program evaluation (i.e., average of all indices)	3	What are the benefits of the project to student learning skills?	0.76

Table 2.

Indices and examples of items from teachers’ questionnaire (N = 32).

The questionnaire has analyzed the findings, which shows that some of the internal traces are normal, but some were low. Considering the low internal consistency findings in some of the indices, it was necessary to update some of the statements in the questionnaire for the evaluation of the program. In all cases, the index score was composed of the average of the items. See Tables 1 and 2.

In-depth interviews with students focus groups and interviews with accompanying teachers were done between 1−2 weeks after the project ended. All the interviews were validated by two inspectors in the Ministry of Education and two school principals.

8.3 Research procedure

The research was conducted using the mixed-method approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative measures. The data was collected from the participants via a questionnaire during each group’s final meeting of the project. Moreover, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted through six focus groups, each including six students (N = 36), and one-on-one interviews with school principals, teachers, and students during the last week of the project and a week after it ended.

8.4 Data analysis

The mixed-method research approach was used in this study, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods for answering the research questions. To analyze the findings descriptive statistics, T-Test, and multiple regression analysis was applied, MANOVA and ANOVA test were used.

Using skewness (SK < [2.0]) and kurtosis (K < 7.00) procedures, each teacher index was examined. Moreover, multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed, using the different sectors as a variable, followed by ANOVA for each index separately.

Sabra Ben Yehoshua [39], Shelsky and Arieli [40], noted the significance of the qualitative approach to understand the impact of the project on the perception of students and teachers. The reasons for integrating the qualitative paradigm in the study lie in the desire to understand in-depth the effects of the project on the participants in a deductive way. To create a diverse sample with maximum variation (Variation Maximum), the sample included participants from different schools with different religions, gender, and place of residence. Deductive thematic analysis was conducted based on categorical repeating patterns of the content. The process was carried out by organizing the various parts of the text by coding into categories, locating common meanings, and repeating patterns in the analyzed texts.

9. Results

The survey evaluated the contribution of 21st learning skills, including PBL and STEEP methods, for enhancing pluralism and collaborative learning, and social activism among students from a range of groups in Israel. Table 3 presents the mean scores for each index on the students’ questionnaire (N = 622) and on the teachers’ (N = 32). The students’ input is presented for all participants in general, and according to each sector in particular. The results show high evaluations for the first index, Teaching/Learning social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural team, with an average score of 4.65 out of 5 among students and 4.70 among teachers. These high scores indicate that the experience was both successful and meaningful, for students and teachers alike.

Index	Total Student Sample; M (SD)	Jewish Students; M (SD)	Arab Students; M (SD)	Total; Teacher Sample; M (SD)
Teaching/studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multi-cultural student team.	4.65 (0.32)	4.53 (0.55)	4.78 (0.46)	4.70 (1.05)
The impact of the project on raising awareness of social activism.	4.50 (0.63)	4.38 (0.72)	4.67 (0.43)	4.51 (1.01)
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).	3.40 (0.93)	2.90 (0.85)	3.9 (0.71)	4.55 (1.22)
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.	4.02 (1.01)	3.45 (0.83)	4.60 (0.81)	4.61 (1.03)
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.	4.32 (0.90)	3.83 (1.00)	4.80 (0.39)	4.45 (1.23)
The impact and value of the project regarding interactions between teachers from different sectors.	—	—	—	4.54 (1.08)
Added value for other members of staff who did not participate in the program.	—	—	—	4.31 (1.27)
Changes in the teachers’ teaching methods following their experience and participation in the project	--	--	--	4.72 (0.96)
Program evaluation (i.e., average of all indices)	4.17 (0.63)			4.52 (1.06)

Table 3.

Mean scores for eight indices presented to teachers and students.

The second index, relating to The impact of the project on raising awareness of social activism, was also highly evaluated by both teachers (M = 4.51) and students (M = 4.50). One teacher from a Jewish school stated that: “The students were exposed to the issue of children’s rights in Israel and around the world as part of their PBL research, including the International Children’s Rights Day.” Participating in the project greatly contributed to enhancing the students’ learning and know-how; meeting the Druze students was also fascinating for them, and the collaborative end-products reflect significant learning and cooperation between the two groups of students.

The third index, The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms) scored higher among teachers (M = 4.55) than among students (M = 3.40) yet is still an above mid-scale score. The fourth index, regarding Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams, also achieved high scores by both teachers (M = 4.61) and students (M = 4.02). Finally, both teachers (M = 4.45) and students ((M = 4.32) highly ranked the fifth index, Entrepreneurship, and social activism; end products of the project.

The findings presented in Table 4 show that in-depth learning and internalization of social activism did take place via the PBL project, which entailed collaborative learning in mixed multicultural student teams using future-based tools. A sixth-grade student from a Druze school said: “We explained to the sixth-graders in another school [a Jewish school] what social activism is and how it is expressed through the acceptance of others in a multicultural and pluralistic society. We used a digitally shared presentation on social activism and the acceptance of others that we had prepared as a part of our PBL project. We then held discussions via Skype with those students and devised a plan for researching our mutual subject. In another session, we conducted a joint activity that included preparing a digital poster about friendship from an intersectoral perspective. For us, it was very interesting and empowering to collaborate on digital platforms with students from a different school as a joint research team.”

	2.	3.	4.	5.
Studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.	.39***	.21*	.23*	.20*
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).		.11	.31***	.10
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).			.44***	.61***
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.				.48***
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.

Table 4.

Intercorrelations between students’ evaluation of the program (N = 622).

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

A teacher in an Arab school summarized the learning and implementation process using digital platforms and multicultural teams: “Following a theoretical introduction to the main concepts of social activism, acceptance of the other, equality, and students’ rights, students’ work teams were formed in the classroom and were then paired up with students from our associated school. The teams from both schools (Arab and Jewish) collaborated via a digital platform and talked via Skype. Their main topic was the value ​​of accepting others in a multicultural society. As a PBL project, the students chose to prepare a digital poster as a tool for disseminating information among all their school students. The students prepared a poster that was presented in the school corridors of both schools. The poster was written in both Hebrew and Arabic. It was fascinating to see the collaboration between the students, despite the language gaps between them.” At the beginning of the following school year, the principal provided each student with a school diary with a copy of this poster appearing on the front page of each diary.

In addition to the quantitative data gathered via questionnaires, qualitative data were obtained through interviews with students and teachers from the various schools. A student from an Arab school said, “The idea of ​​working with children that we do not know via the computer is a good idea, but there were language difficulties, and we did not always understand each other; our teacher helped us at the beginning of the project and translated some of our ideas. After several sessions of joint work, we managed to build a joint PBL product in Hebrew and in Arabic.” One of the Arab students reflected on the learning process, explaining: “We produced a short video clip in Arabic and in Hebrew, illustrating the common points of interest among young students in the twenty-first century.” In addition, a teacher from a Jewish school remarked that: “The project via the computer was a new experience for our students, who worked as a collaborative team on a global online project called Cultural Mosaic – the acceptance of others on an online project. It was complicated but very interesting. It took the students a few sessions to decide what their subject of interest is and what to create for their final product.”

With regards to the overall evaluation of the program, both teachers and students evaluated the program positively (students M = 4.17; teachers M = 4.52). One student from a Jewish school said: “We conducted an activity in a mixed cultural group from the two schools. Our PBL product was an advertisement that was exhibited on the school corridors. We prepared the advertisement in Hebrew and Arabic on social activism, friendship, rights, and the acceptance of others.” Another student from a Jewish school said: “As a result of our activities, students from other schools (Arab and Druze schools) visited us, and together we conducted activities on social activism and on the acceptance of others in a pluralistic and multicultural society.”

To examine possible differences between students and teachers, additional statistics were conducted. With regards to students, T-tests were run on their evaluation of the program, as shown in Figure 1. Significant differences were found for four of the five indices, all except for the first index, Studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multi-cultural student team. For all five indices, the average scores among Arab students (ranging from 3.90 to 4.80) were higher than the average scores for Jewish students (ranging from 2.90 to 4.53).

Figure 1.

Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the STEEP/PBL project.

Using skewness (SK < [2.0]) and kurtosis (K < 7.00) procedures, each teacher index was examined. Moreover, multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed, using the different sectors as a variable, followed by ANOVA for each index separately. Significant differences (p < 0.05) are presented as Cohen’s standardized values.

The MANOVA revealed a significant grouping effect [Wilks’ λ = 0.51, F_{(9, 22)} = 2.30, p = 0.05, η² = 0.458.] Follow-up ANOVAs performed for each index revealed significant mean differences between the Arab and Jewish teachers for only two indices: The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms) and The impact and value of the project regarding interactions between teachers from different sectors (Table 5). Finally, comparing means revealed the following significant effects (p < 0.01): Arab students had higher values for using digital tools (d = 1.1) and for inter-sector relationships (d = 1.25). Table 6 presents the mean values and SDs for the five index variables.

	The impact of the program on raising awareness of social activism.	Teaching social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.	Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams	Changes in the teachers’ teaching methods following their experience and participation in the project.	The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).	Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.	Added value of the project for connecting between teachers from other sectors.
The impact of the program on raising awareness of social activism.	1.00	0.67	0.61	0.71	0.76	0.48	0.56
Teaching social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.		1.00	0.30	0.39	0.57	0.29	0.40
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.			1.00	0.48	0.42	0.07	0.29
Changes in the teachers’ teaching methods following their experience and participation in the project.				1.00	0.45	0.37	0.24
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms).					1.00	0.22	0.81
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project					0.76	1.00	0.39
Added value of the project for connecting between teachers from other sectors.							1.00

Table 5.

Multiple regression of indices for impact of program on social awareness.

	B	β	t	Accumulated R^2
The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms)	0.27	0.07	0.36	57.2%
Changes in the teachers’ teaching methods following their experience and participation in the project.	0.24	0.09	0.26	74.6%
Studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team.	0.20	0.08	0.22	79.2%
Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.	0.22	0.07	0.25	82.6%
Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project.	0.12	0.04	0.23	86.9%

Table 6.

Regression coefficients for impact of program on social awareness.

The impact of future-based learning (i.e., STEEP and PBL) on the collaborative work between students from different schools and between teachers from different schools was examined through interviews and questionnaires. Students noted that learning through PBL and digital tools was effective for building a relationship and communicating with students from the paired school; while there were certain language gaps at the beginning of the process, requiring teachers’ intervention and assistance; students overcame the language barrier and managed to work in mixed groups via digital platforms – creating meaningful opportunities for mutual learning and for creating a significant end product. One-sixth-grader from a Jewish school explained: “Through the computer activities, we managed to get to know each other and corporate in an effective manner, in order to produce a significant PBL end product that was introduced to other students in our schools.” A fifth-grader from an Arab school noted: “In the beginning, it was hard to get to know our team members for the other school via the virtual world, but through our weekly mutual sessions, we got to know each other and collaborated very well.”

Intercorrelations between the students’ evaluation of the program reveal that most are positive and significant. The index Studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team is positively and significantly related to all other indices. Indices The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms) and Entrepreneurship and social activism; end products of the project are also positively interrelated. In addition, The extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platform) is positively related to Cross-cultural cooperation through learning teams.”

The participating teachers were asked whether networking between teachers from different sectors had been achieved. This index scored 4.31 out of 5 points, with most teachers agreeing with this (63%) to a great extent. Moreover, they stated that most interactions were conducted during the mutual activities and when developing the learning materials.

Intercorrelations between the teachers’ evaluation of the program were analyzed by performing Pearson’s tests. A medium-to-strong relationship (r = 0.67, (P ≤ 0.001) was found between Teaching social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural team and The impact of the project on raising awareness of social activism.

One main issue that hindered collaboration was the language barrier. More than half the teachers mentioned that there were some communication difficulties among the students – especially at the beginning of the project. Despite this difficulty, the students did not give up, and relationships were formed via digital channels, with the help of their teachers. (It should be noted that not all paired teams had different mother tongues. For example, students from a secular Jewish school and their paired students from an orthodox Jewish school are all Hebrew speakers.) The teachers stated that most connections were formed during the face-to-face encounters, that were both exciting and meaningful for the students and teachers and enabled the continuation of the project via the digital platform. One teacher from a Jewish school wrote: “The research work was very interesting because the students did not speak a common language. We [the teachers] had to translate for the students, thereby making our role more dominant. By the end of the project, however, the students had managed to produce a joint product, which was in both Hebrew and Arabic.” A teacher from an Arab school said: “The language was not an obstacle but rather a challenge; the children from the Arab school improved their Hebrew and the Jewish children were patient and spoke more slowly.”

Significant collaboration occurred through the teachers working together to develop the study program and the joint project. Pearson tests showed a medium relationship between studying social activism via PBL in a mixed multicultural student team and added value of the project for connecting teachers from other sectors (r = 0.40, P ≤ 0.05).

In order to examine the indices that predict the impact of the program on increasing awareness about social activism, a multiple regression analysis was performed on the indices, as shown in Table 5.

The regression model is significant (F_(5,26) = 34.44,p < 0.001). The predicting factors explain 86.9% of the variance in the degree of awareness of social activism. The strongest predictor is the extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms). The correlations between the variables in the model show that additional indices also have a strong positive correlation with social activism. Moreover, the added value of the project for connecting teachers from other sectors was strongly correlated with the dependent variable, yet this index was not included in the model as it has a strong but insignificant correlation with the extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools, Skype, mind maps, digital platforms). Table 6 presents the regression coefficients of the model.

The qualitative data gathered from the students shows that the pedagogical methods used in the PBL project enhanced the students’ learning and cooperation. First, the program enabled the students to become learners and thinkers. Asking open-ended questions requires skills of inquiry, especially when dealing with inter-sectoral connections, i.e., the acceptance of the different others in a pluralistic and multicultural society. One student from a Druze school relates: “As part of the program of social activism, we explored our rights using different questions. In our PBL team project, we explored a few rights and understood their significance in a pluralistic society. In a joint meeting with students from the Jewish school via Skype, we decided to create a mask together for our final product. We decided to write on the masks the rights that we think are most important to be preserved in a pluralistic society.”

Next, the program encouraged students to be independent and take responsibility, as the teachers in the program allowed the students’ freedom of choice and challenges that would enhance their independence and skills. One teacher from an Arab school said: “One of the subjects of the program was social activism from a cross-sectoral perspective. We discussed the issues of acceptance and of the different other in a pluralistic and multicultural society.” Dealing with such issues in relation to solving authentic problems enables learners to use different learning sources and engage them in problem-solving and active research. The teachers in the program also allowed great flexibility and shifting of the focus throughout the activities, in response to the student’s interests and questions. One-sixth-grader from a Jewish school said: “During a mutual activity, we were talking [the students from the paired schools] about our rights, friendship, rejection, and central values ​​of a pluralistic society. As a final joint activity, we created a graffiti project that formulated a convention dealing with accepting the different other in a pluralistic and multicultural society.”

An additional theme reflected in the project relates to the use of diverse sources of information, as the learned materials are accessible to students in both Hebrew and Arabic – through digital platforms, posters, pictures, videos, hard copies, and more. With PBL projects, this type of learning exposes students to new experiences, enabling them to create new structures for integrating the information. A Jewish teacher said: “The students in the Arab school researched the subject of accepting the other in a multicultural society and then created a poster. My group of students researched the subject and prepared a presentation. During the sessions via the Skype digital platform, the students decided to create a joint final product of a presentation in both Hebrew and Arabic about the values and principles they had researched. They presented their work in the form of a digital poster about the acceptance of the different other. The presentation was then used to disseminate the subject among the other students in both schools.”

A fourth theme seen in the study refers to creating connections between theoretical and practical issues that relate to the learner’s life and global issues (i.e., glocalism). The learning process created links to the real world outside the school walls, relating to everyday situations. For example, students from different schools jointly created shared thinking maps using a common digital platform. Teachers from an Arab and Jewish pair of schools explained that: “During the program, the students were introduced to the different values that characterize a pluralistic society. Each group chose a value and researched it. During the research process, the students built a concept map of the values that were studied. At the end of the research process, they created a large concept map and held a debate with other groups that participated in the program.”

Finally, actively learning in groups provides a significant emotional experience involving the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal communications, empathy, and tolerance toward the other, increasing the learner’s personal involvement, intrinsic motivation, and enjoyment. A student from a Jewish school recalled: “Learning on the program contributed to me and to the other students. As well as learning, we were also engaged in the dissemination of the subject to other students in our school and in the Arab and Druze schools, and this was a huge contribution to me because introducing the material to other students boosted my self-confidence.”

Analysis of the findings reveals that with regards to learning and assimilation of the program, the subject of acceptance of others in a multicultural society was significantly implemented among students, through a variety of future-based teaching strategies such as PBL, STEEP, and digital tools. The end products presented by the students and teachers indicate a significant level of assimilation and learning, creativity, and active learning achieved through digital platforms, debates, group training, and joint creations. A sixth-grader from an Arab school shared his impressions: “Working with computers helps create activities regarding social activism. The project’s ‘acceptance of others – social activism’ was based on teamwork within the school and with peers from the other school. We constructed a mutual research process, accompanied by creating joint products.” A Jewish student from the paired school added: “After building the joint products, we shared them with students from the paired school and from our school.”

As shown in the findings, the index of the extent of learning about social activism using STEEP methods (digital tools skype, mind maps, digital platforms) was positively related to all other items. A fifth-grader studying in a Circassian school related: “We talked about the right to equality in a pluralistic society. The product that we created was done in cooperation with the students from the Jewish paired school. We were corresponding via the forum and shared ideas via Skype. We worked in full cooperation (despite the language difficulties) on a digital platform and created a joint product in Hebrew and Arabic. It was very important for us to meet our colleagues and get to know each other.” A sixth-grade student from a Jewish school also said: “What we acquired was another type of friendship, with more knowledge and experience in the field of friendship, discourse, and acceptance of the different other in a multicultural and pluralistic society. I now understand what social activism is in the context of accepting the other and rules for conducting fair discourse.”

10. Discussion and conclusion

Enhancing social activism among students requires innovative, future-based learning methods. The teachers and students who participated in the Living in a Multicultural Society PBL project reported significant and meaningful learning among the paired teams, combined with the planning and execution of collaborative initiatives between students from different sectors. The findings reinforce the concept of teaching/learning using new pedagogical approaches for enabling multi-dimensional learning – in order to develop learners’ research skills and produce diversified products. One possible explanation for the significant differences in the evaluation of the program between students in the Jewish and Arab sectors could be that PBL, STEEP, and future-based learning methods may not be use as widely in the Arab schools as in the Jewish schools. If these methods were new to some students but not to others, this could have led to differences in the levels of appreciation and evaluation of the students.

Moreover, the final project products were displayed and explained to additional students from the schools who did not participate in the project. This social activism initiative provided teachers with the opportunity to experience innovative pedagogical methods based on digital tools that enable learning, innovation, creative thinking, curiosity, and research methodologies – all of which are highly all relevant to the students’ day-to-day. In other words, this learning provided a new platform for developing thinking, creativity, work ties, and teamwork between class students and students from different sectors.

The moral international issue of social pluralism and accepting others is the core issue of most western societies that accept immigrants from around the globe. Therefore, this topic is of the utmost importance when educating students to become good and meaningful citizens. Moreover, providing students with a range of pedagogical tools, twenty-first century skill is of great educational value [18]. As such, the contribution of the Living in a Multicultural Society program is significant. First, from a social point-of-view, active group learning develops interpersonal communications and helps achieve a balance between group and individual learning. In the twenty-first century, being able to work in a team and internalize social intelligence is invaluable [6, 32]. Furthermore, from a language point-of-view, this type of project develops and enhances communication capabilities and dialogs with people from other cultures, nationalities, and religion, as well as enriching the participants’ vocabulary. Finally, from a cognitive point-of-view, this type of active learning contributes to acquiring existing knowledge and creating new knowledge [41].

The program presented in this study encompasses future-based pedagogy for dealing with glocalism [2, 18], i.e., the nurturing of the global citizen. By implementing this concept in the educational initiative of social activism, the students had to act outside their comfort zone, creating learning partnerships with students who do not belong to the same cultural background. This was meaningful, as opportunities for such intercultural encounters build and strengthen the local and global perceptions within the learner’s personal development.

With globalization becoming more and more widespread in recent years, a range of populations has begun migrating to western countries, turning the issue of multiculturalism and acceptance of the different others into a major topic. This social activism project creates a platform for educating the students toward tolerance and acceptance of others. Educating students and youth from an early age toward tolerance and recognizing others as having equal rights and worth will make human society more tolerant and less discriminative toward minorities. In addition, the acceptance of others will also lead to the assimilation and integration of cultures, thereby creating a more egalitarian and pluralistic society. Social activism in a multicultural society is necessary in all schools in the Western world.

The findings of this study strongly indicate that such projects are effective in educating the younger generation toward tolerance and inclusion of others. Moreover, they indicate that using a varied range of future-based learning processes based on PBL and STEEP contributes to the assimilation of social activism and basic values ​​of a pluralistic society.

11. Limitations

This study on social activism was conducted among elementary and junior high school students in a number of sectors in Israel. Future studies could benefit from expanding the research and conducting a joint study with schools from different countries, such as Germany, France, and Italy – in order to examine the impact of the program for raising social activism awareness on a large international scale. In turn, the assimilation of this program on an international scale, among young students, could leverage the understanding of how social activism impacts acceptance and tolerance among all sectors of the population.