Abstract—Project-based Learning (PBL) is an effective
teaching and learning method, it can promote the performance
of the learner to adapt the future work environment. The aim of
this study is to provide a perspective on PBL that identify the
current status, emerging trends, and certain important themes.
By mining the database of Web of Science (WoS), the study had
collected 522 references about PBL. By utilizing the application
software of WoS and CiteSpace to analyze the data, the study
had identified the current status and main emerging trends of
PBL. The hottest trends and most popular topics over the past
20 years were discussed. The most popular topics of PBL
includes: “the changing global economy”, “project ecologies”,
“flexible environment”, “collaborative teamwork”, “enhanced
graduate attribute”, “teacher belief”, “engineering design
thinking”, and “community involvement” etc. Finally, the
findings from this study can provide a knowledge map to
researchers and practitioners for future work.
Index Terms—Project-based learning (PBL), web of science
(WoS), CiteSpace.
Yong-Xin Li and Chin-Pin Chen are with the Department of Industrial
Education and Technology, National Changhua University of Education,
Taiwan (e-mail: acow0703@gmail.com, iechencp@cc.ncue.edu.tw).
Hui-Min Lai is with the Department of Information Management,
Chienkuo Technology University, Taiwan (e-mail: hmin@cc.ctu.edu.tw).
Cite: Yong-Xin Li, Hui-Min Lai, and Chin-Pin Chen, "A Scientometric Review of the Current Status and Emerging Trends in Project-Based Learning," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 581-584, 2017.