PBL APPLIED IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLASS: A MODEL FROM BRAZILIAN-FINNISH CASE STUDY

Project-based Learning (PBL) is a learning approach where students are in the centre of the learning process as actors and owners. In a project-based learning process the students organise themselves into teams, supported by teacher guidance and have the opportunity of work collaboratively to aim learning goals. Since late 2015 PBL has been adopted as an innovative method for an entrepreneurship classroom in a management undergraduate course in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. PBL methodology has been adopted as an experimental implementation of learning models from a Finnish-Brazilian training program experienced in 2014-2015. The Teacher Education Programme “VET Teachers for The Future” (30 ECTS) training program has been happening in Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), Finland. The process of the learning paradigm changes from more traditional, teacher-centred approach to student-centred which was demanded in the Brazilian learning context. The reported experiment has required significant changes in the teaching and learning methods and a significant cognitive and emotional effort not only from the teachers but also from the students. The presented research aims at analysing and verifying the experienced process and results about Brazilian student's PBL experience and report their reflections on the student-centred approach. The research also offers a theoretical overview and earlier experiences in applying PBL to entrepreneurship in undergraduate courses. The preliminary results indicate that PBL as a student-centred approach applied to entrepreneurship classroom from an undergraduate course in Brazil was effective as a learning approach since it has helped to develop not only student's technical competencies but also personal, social and communicative student's skills.