Prior research suggests skill-based and social benefits for American K-12 students who engage in project-based learning (PBL) and global collaboration projects (GCPs) in the classroom. Yet, little is known how both PBL and GCP combined may improve student achievement, especially in the sciences. This quasi-experimental, explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the impact of students’ participation in a Global Collaboration PBL (GCPBL) in Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) on student achievement. Using a nonequivalent, two-group, pre-test and post-test design, purposefully selected APES classes used a common 3-month PBL (intervention) on global food supply and world hunger environmental science content based upon the APES standards. PBL assessment included a pretest and posttest and a group poster to convey information learned on the APES topic. Treatment classrooms participated in a GCPBL with classrooms in Mexico, whereas control classrooms engaged in the same PBL, but without any globally collaboration. While no significant differences in achievement were evidenced by pre- and post-test scores and PBL products (posters) between control (PBL) and treatment (GCPBL) classrooms, all students scored significantly higher on the post-test than pre-test, and control classrooms had slightly larger gains. Findings suggest further considerations are warranted about the potential of GCPBL in environmental science learning.

Al-Balushi, S. M., & Al-Aamri, S. S. (2014). The effect of environmental science projects on students’ environmental knowledge and science attitudes. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23(3), 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2014.927167

Arcury, T. A. (1990). Environmental attitude and environmental knowledge. Human Organization, 49, 300-304. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.49.4.y6135676n433r880

Armstrong, J. B., & Impara, J. C. (1991). The Impact of an environmental education program on knowledge and attitude. The Journal of Environmental Education, 22(4), 36-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.1991.9943060

Atwater, M. M. (1996). Social constructivism: infusion into the multicultural science education research agenda. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(8), 821-837. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199610)33:8<821::AID-TEA1>3.0.CO;2-Y

Balistreri, S., Di Giacomo, F. T., Ptak, T., & Noisette, I. (2012). Global education: Connections, concepts and careers. Retrieved from New York: http://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/
9/researchinreview-2012-4-global-education-connections-concepts-careers.pdf

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New York: General Learning Press.

Barraza, L., & Walford, R. (2002). Environmental education: A comparison between English and Mexican school children. . Environmental Education Research, 8(2), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620220128239

Bickmore, K. (2009). Global education to build peace. In T. F. Kirkwood-Tucker (Ed.), Visions in global education: The globalization of curriculum and pedagogy in teacher education and schools: Perspectives from Canada, Russia, and the United States. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Blumenfeld, P., Fishman, B. J., Krajcik, J., Marx, R. W., & Soloway, E. (2000). Creating usable innovations in systemic reform: Scaling up technology-embedded project-based science in urban schools. Educational Psychologist, 35(3), 149-164. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3503_2

Boix Mancilla, V., & Gardner, H. (2007). From teaching globalization to nurturing global consciousness. In M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the global era: International perspectives on globalization and education. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Boss, S. (2011). Project-based learning: A short history. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-history

Boss, S. (2013). PBL for 21st century success (J. Larmer Ed.). Novato, California: Buck Institute for Education.

Bradley, J. C., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, M. (1999). Relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental attitude of high school students. The Journal of Environmental Education, 30(3), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958969909601873

Butler, A. C. (2010). Repeated testing produces superior transfer of learning relative to repeated studying. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(5), 1118-1133. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019902

Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Campbell, S. A. (2012). The phenomenological study of ESL students in a project-based learning environment. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6(11), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v06i11/52187

Capraro, R. M., Capraro, M. M., & Morgan, J. (2013). STEM project-based learning: An integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) approach. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-143-6

Cervantes, B. (2013). The impact of Project-Based Learning on mathematics and reading achievement of 7th and 8th grade students in a South Texas school district. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Chang, C.-Y. (2001). Comparing the impacts of a problem-based computer-assisted instruction and the direct-interactive teaching method on student science achievement. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10(2), 147-153. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009469014218

Cheng, K.-m. (2007). The postindustrial workplace and challenges to education. In M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the global era: International perspectives on globalization and education. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520254343.003.0009

College Board. (2006). Student score distributions. Retrieved from http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/ap06_student_grade_distribs.pdf

College Board. (2013). AP Environmental Science course description. Retrieved from https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap-environmental-science-course-description.pdf

College Board. (2017). Student score distributions. Retrieved from https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2017/Student-Score-Distributions-2017.pdf

Condliffe, B., Quint, J., Visher, M. G., Bangser, M., Drohojowska, S., Saco, L., & Nelson, E. (2017). Project-based learning: A literature review. New York, NY: MDRC.

Cook, L., Bell, M., Nugent, J., & Smith, W. (2016). Global collaboration enhances technology literacy. Technology & Engineering Teacher, 75(5), 20-25.

Cook, L., Smith, W., Lan, W., & Carpenter, D. (2016). The development of global competencies and global mindedness through global education experiences. International Journal of Global Education, 5(2), 1-16.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52(4), 281-302. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040957

Cui, Q. (2013). Global-mindedness and intercultural competence: A quantitative study of pre-service teachers. Indiana State University.

Daniels, M., Cajander, Å., Pears, A., & Clear, T. (2010). Engineering education research in practice: Evolving use of open ended group projects as a pedagogical strategy for developing skills in global collaboration. International Journal of Engineering Education, 26(4), 795-806.

Drake, K. N., & Long, D. (2009). Rebecca’s in the dark: A comparative study of problem-based learning and direct instruction/experiential learning in two fourth-grade classrooms. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 21(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03174712

Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Scott, P., & Mortimer, E. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational researcher, 23(7), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X023007005

Duckworth, R., Walker-Levy, L., & Levy, J. (2005). Present and future teachers of the world’s children: How internationally minded are they? Journal of Research in International Education, 4(3), 279-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240905057808

Erlandson, D., Harris, E., Skipper, B., & Allen, S. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry: A guide to methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Ewing, M., Huff, K., & Kaliski, P. (2010). Validating AP Exam scores: Current research and new directions. In P. Sadler, G. Sonnert, R. Tai, & K. Klopfenstein (Eds.), AP: A critical examination of the Advanced Placement program (pp. 85-105). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Flanagan, K. F. (2016). Critical success factors for the Advanced Placement Environmental Science exam and their implications for practice and policy. In O. R. Anderson, R. Baker, Y.-S. Lee, A. Rivet, & M. Siegel (Eds.): ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Friedland, A., Relyea, R., & Courard-Hauri, D. (2012). Environmental science for AP. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P. C., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E., & Clay-Chambers, J. (2008). Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry-based science curricula in the context of urban reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(8), 922-939. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20248

Hasni, A., Bousadra, F., Belletete, V., Benabdallah, A., Nicole, M., & Dumais, N. (2016). Trends in research on project-based teaching and learning at K-12 levels: A systematic review. Studies in Science Education, 52(2), 199-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2016.1226573

Hernandez-Ramos, P., & De La Paz, S. (2009). Learning history in middle school by designing multimedia in a project-based learning experience. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 151-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2009.10782545

Hett, E. J. (1993). The development of an instrument to measure global-mindedness. (Doctoral dissertation), ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Hodson, D. (2003). Time for action: Science education for an alternative future. International Journal of Science Education, 25(6), 645-670. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690305021

Hugonnier, B. (2007). Globalization and education: Can the world meet the challenge? In M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the global era: International perspectives on globalization and education. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2010). Cooperative learning and conflict resolution: Essential 21st century skills. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds.), 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Judson, E. (2017). Science and mathematics Advanced Placement exams: Growth and achievement over time. The Journal of Educational Research, 110(2), 209-217. doi:http://dx.org.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1075188

Karahan, E., & Roehrig, G. (2015). Constructing media artifacts in a social constructivist environment to enhance students’ environmental awareness and activism. Journal of Science Education & Technology, 24(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9525-5

Kirkwood-Tucker, T. F. (2009). From the trenches: The integration of a global perspective in curriculum and instruction in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In T. F. Kirkwood-Tucker (Ed.), Visions in global education: The globalization of curriculum and pedagogy in teacher education and schools: Perspectives from Canada, Russia, and the United States. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Kirkwood-Tucker, T. F., Morris, J., & Lieberman, M. (2011). What kind of teachers will teach our children? The worldmindedness of undergraduate elementary and secondary social studies teacher candidates at five Florida public universities. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 3(3), 5-28. https://doi.org/10.18546/IJDEGL.03.3.02

Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267-277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480216659733

Kubick, T. (2012). What should global PBL look like? Retrieved from http://www.bie.org/blog/what_should_global_pbl_look_like

Kwan, T., & So, M. (2008). Environmental learning using a problem-based approach in the field: A case study of a Hong Kong school. International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education, 17(2), 93-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382040802148562

Larmer, J., Mergendoller, J. R., & Boss, S. (2015). Setting the standard for project based learning: a proven approach to rigorous classroom instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Larmer, J., Ross, D., & Mergendoller, J. R. (2009). PBL starter kit: To-the-point advice, tools and tips for your first project in middle or high school. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education.

Levine, D. S., & Strube, M. J. (2012). Environmental attitudes, knowledge, intentions and behaviors among college students. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(3), 308-326. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2011.604363

Lin, C.-S., Ma, J.-T., Kuo, K. Y.-C., & Chou, C.-T. C. (2015). Examining the efficacy of project-based learning on cultivating the 21st century skills among high school students in a global context. Journal on School Educational Technology, 11(1), 1-9.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry (Vol. 75). Newbury Park: Sage.

Lindsay, J., & Davis, V. A. (2013). Flattening classrooms, engaging minds: Move to global collaboration one step at a time. Boston: Pearson.

Longview Foundation. (n.d.). Our mission. Retrieved from https://longviewfdn.org/about/mission/

Marx, R. W., Blumenfeld, P. C., Krajcik, J. S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E., Geier, R., & Tal, R. T. (2004). Inquiry‐based science in the middle grades: Assessment of learning in urban systemic reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(10), 1063-1080. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20039

Maxwell, N. L., Mergendoller, J., & Bellisimo, Y. (2005). The high school economics curriculum: Does problem-based learning increase knowledge? Journal of Economic Education, 36(4), 315-331. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.36.4.315-331

McTighe, J., & Seif, E. (2010). An implementation framework to support 21st century skills. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds.), 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Merryfield, M. M. (2002). The difference a global educator can make. Educational Leadership, 60(2), 18-21.

Merryfield, M. M., & Harris, J. (1992). Getting started in global education: Essential literature, essential linkages for teacher educators. School of Education Review, 4(1), 56-66.

Merryfield, M. M., Lo, J., Po, S., & Kasai, M. (2008). Worldmindedness: Taking off the blinders. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 2(1), 6-20. https://doi.org/10.3776/joci.2008.v2n1p6-20

Morgan, R., & Ramist, L. (1998). Advanced Placement students in college: An investigation of course grades at 21 colleges. Retrieved from http://www.collegeboard.com/ap/pdf/sr-98-13.pdf

Mudrich, R. (2017). The effects of project-based learning activities on academic achievement and motivation in mathematics in eighth-grade students. In B. C. Litchfield, J. Billingsley, S. Martin, & P. Vitulli (Eds.): ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Nugent, J., Smith, W., Cook, L., & Bell, M. (2015). 21st century citizen science. The Science Teacher, 82(8), 34-38. https://doi.org/10.2505/4/tst15_082_08_34

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Leech, N. L. (2003). On becoming a pragmatic researcher: The importance of combining quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(5), 375-387. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570500402447

P21. (2007). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework

P21. (2015). P21 framework definitions. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/docs/P21_Framework_Definitions_New_Logo_2015.pdf

Parker, W., Lo, J., Yeo, A., Valencia, S., Nguyen, D., Abbott, R., . . . Vye, N. (2013). Beyond breadth-speed-test: Toward deeper knowing and engagement in an Advanced Placement course. American Educational Research Journal, 50(6), 1424. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831213504237

Prather, J. P., & Field, M. H. (2001). Learning and teaching critical thinking skills in the information age: A challenge in professional development for science teachers. In J. Rhoton & P. Bowers (Eds.), Professional Development Leadership and the Diverse Learner (pp. 23-35). Arlington: NSTA Press.

Reimers, F. (2009). Leading for global competency. ASCD, 67(1).

Rickinson, M., & Lundholm, C. (2008). Exploring students’ learning challenges in environmental education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(3), 341-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802299627

Rosenthal, D. B. (1990). Warming up to STS. Activities to encourage environmental awareness. Science Teacher, 57(6), 28-32.

Sahabi, S. W. (2018). More than Global Mindedness: A Mixed Method Exploration of a US-Mexico Collaboration Project on American Secondary Students' Understanding of Global Food Supply and 21st Century Skills. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/82096

Schleicher, A. (Ed.) (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century: Lessons from around the world: OECD Publishing.

Schneider, R. M., Krajcik, J., Marx, R. W., & Soloway, E. (2002). Performance of students in project‐based science classrooms on a national measure of science achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(5), 410-422. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10029

Shepard, L. A. (2008). The role of assessment in a learning culture. The Journal of Education, 189(1/2), 95-106.

Stratford, S. J., & Finkel, E. A. (1996). The impact of ScienceWare and foundations on students’ attitudes towards science and science classes. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 5(1), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01575471

Suarez-Orozco, M., & Sattin, C. (2007). Learning the global era. In M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the global era: International perspectives on globalization and education. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Sussmuth, R. (2007). On the need for teaching intercultural skills: Challenges for education in a globalizing world. In M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Learning in the global era: International perspectives on globalization and education. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches (Vol. 46). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. Retrieved from https://dl.icdst.org/pdfs/files1/aac48826d9652cb154e2dbf0033376fa.pdf

Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tye, B., & Tye, K. (1999). Global education: A study of school change. Albany: State University of New York Press.

United Nations Educational, S., & Cultural, O. (2015). World education forum 2015: final report. Retrieved from Paris, France:

Wagner, T. (2010). The global achievement gap: Why even our best schools don’t teach the new survival skills our children need and what we can do about it. New York: Basic Books.

Warne, R. T. (2017). Research on the academic benefits of the Advanced Placement program. SAGE Open, 7(1), 1-16.