I am part of a network at UNCG called RISE (Research and Instruction in STEM Education), which is a collection of faculty and staff interested in promoting science education. From the network's website:
Essentially, PBL begins with a problem, and learning is achieved as students gather information and test hypotheses to solve the problem. We were provided with a really nice review article on the approach by John R. Savery (2006: 12-15), who, after mining the literature, identified several key components of PBL:
The attendees went through a PBL exercise, and it works more-or-less like this: First, a real-world problem is presented that requires both some prior knowledge and the acquisition of new knowledge. The group must lay out the facts that are known, decide what sorts of assumptions can or cannot be made, and relate the problem to existing knowledge. Second, students need to identify what additional information is required and, through self-directed learning and open inquiry, will procure this information and formulate hypotheses. Finally, students are asked to present and defend their hypotheses...and the process starts again with the newly gained knowledge serving as the existing knowledge for the next round.
I think any teacher will tell you that one of the biggest obstacles to learning is motivation. While grades are meant to fill this role, students become invested in the grade rather than learning. One of the things I like about the PBL approach is that in the process of exploring a problem and eventually being forced to defend hypotheses based on information they themselves gathered, students are invested in the accuracy of their findings and, in the end, feel a sense of ownership. The other major roadblock to learning is relevance: Students must see that what they are learning is going to be relevant in some concrete way. PBL also addresses this by focusing on real-world problems.
There is, however, one glaring issue here: research has failed to show that PBL actually results in systematically better performance relative to more traditional approaches. The major advantage, it seems, is that students report a preference for PBL. The other problem is that PBL only seems to work well when it is implemented at all levels of a curriculum, and this of course requires that faculty and staff buy in to the approach (something that is MUCH easier said than done). The debate will no doubt go on, but I can see myself designing and implementing PBL lessons to see how it works.
References:
Savery, JR (2006). Overview of problem-based learning: definitions and distinctions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning 1, 9-20.
The goal of the RISE Network is to enhance and expand the already strong partnership between researchers, educators, and science, mathematics, and technology educators in the community and at UNCG. This will be accomplished by developing a network of interested partners to better coordinate STEM education and research across campus. This network will enhance UNCG's ability to broaden access to STEM fields by:
Creating a more coordinated web of opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to engage in inquiry-based STEM experiences
Supporting curriculum development through revising STEM courses in order to offer an inquiry-based collaborative method of instruction designed to foster skills in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and communication, with the goal of promoting the STEM literacy of our graduates
Enhancing the extent to which UNCG supports high-quality STEM education in pre-K–12 classrooms by designing research-based projects that generate and disseminate knowledge about STEM content and pedagogy and are responsive to student, teacher, and district needs
Facilitating collaboration between local community and business leaders and UNCG concerning scientific literacy skills, skills needed for the next generation of the (local) workforce, and instructional policies and programs to meet these needs
Providing support for faculty and staff who seek external funding to support the above effortsI attended the latest event this past Monday, which was a workshop entitled, "Is it Really Teaching if Learning Doesn't Happen?" The network brought in Dr. Ann Lambros, who is Assistant Dean of Medical Education and Assistant Professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, to talk about problem-based learning strategies. "Problem-based learning," along with other buzzwords (or buzz phrases, perhaps?) like "high-impact learning," has garnered quite a bit of recent attention from education policy makers. Although I had heard the term before, I have to admit that I really didn't have a concrete sense of what problem-based learning (or PBL) was.
Essentially, PBL begins with a problem, and learning is achieved as students gather information and test hypotheses to solve the problem. We were provided with a really nice review article on the approach by John R. Savery (2006: 12-15), who, after mining the literature, identified several key components of PBL:
- Students must have the responsibility for their own learning
- The problem simulations used in problem-based learning must be ill-structured and allow for free inquiry
- Learning should be integrated from a wide range of disciplines or subjects
- Collaboration is essential
- What students learn during their self-directed learning must be applied back to the problem with reanalysis and resolution
- A closing analysis of what has been learned from working with the problem and a discussion of what concepts and principles have been learned are essential
- Self and peer assessment should be carried out at the completion of each problem and at the end of every curricular unit
- The activities carried out in problem-based learning must be those valued in the real world
- Student examinations must measure student progress towards the goals of problem-based learning
The attendees went through a PBL exercise, and it works more-or-less like this: First, a real-world problem is presented that requires both some prior knowledge and the acquisition of new knowledge. The group must lay out the facts that are known, decide what sorts of assumptions can or cannot be made, and relate the problem to existing knowledge. Second, students need to identify what additional information is required and, through self-directed learning and open inquiry, will procure this information and formulate hypotheses. Finally, students are asked to present and defend their hypotheses...and the process starts again with the newly gained knowledge serving as the existing knowledge for the next round.
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| PBL learning model. From the University of Queensland. |
I think any teacher will tell you that one of the biggest obstacles to learning is motivation. While grades are meant to fill this role, students become invested in the grade rather than learning. One of the things I like about the PBL approach is that in the process of exploring a problem and eventually being forced to defend hypotheses based on information they themselves gathered, students are invested in the accuracy of their findings and, in the end, feel a sense of ownership. The other major roadblock to learning is relevance: Students must see that what they are learning is going to be relevant in some concrete way. PBL also addresses this by focusing on real-world problems.
There is, however, one glaring issue here: research has failed to show that PBL actually results in systematically better performance relative to more traditional approaches. The major advantage, it seems, is that students report a preference for PBL. The other problem is that PBL only seems to work well when it is implemented at all levels of a curriculum, and this of course requires that faculty and staff buy in to the approach (something that is MUCH easier said than done). The debate will no doubt go on, but I can see myself designing and implementing PBL lessons to see how it works.
References:
Savery, JR (2006). Overview of problem-based learning: definitions and distinctions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning 1, 9-20.
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