Abstract:

Educators use various instructional methods to prepare their students with ability in critical thinking and problem-solving towards the ever-changing environment. Different studies revealed that students with good performance, such as obtaining good grades, do not necessarily reflect their learning effectiveness, particularly long-term knowledge retention or transfer. The current study is kindled from the primary notion, desirable difficulty advocated by Professor Bjork and experimented students‘ learning effectiveness in a project-based learning context related to human resources (HR) training. Project-based learning (PBL) approach is widely regarded as an effective mode to engage students. Adopting the knowledge awareness- possession matrix, students were guided to work from scratch till the end with the full-fledged implementation of the HR training. Feedback from students in both quantitative and qualitative aspects showed the students become more confident and able to retain and apply knowledge earned concepts from class to real practices.