conceptual framework for an urban pbl

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR

AN URBAN PBLBy

José-Miguel Fernández-GüellIsabel González

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) October 5th, 2016

Lima Citylab Workshop, October 5-7th, 2016

Introduction to PBL

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the

experience of solving an open-ended problem.

The goals of PBL are to help students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem solving skills, self-directed

learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation.

PBL is a style of active learning.

Through the process of solving a problem, students get appropriation of the problem, seek for information, collect data, share knowledge, develop arguments and critical

positions about theories.

Purpose of PBL

PBL helps students to:

• Construct an extensive and flexible knowledge base

• Develop effective problem solving skills

• Develop self-directed, lifelong learning skills

• Reinforce interpersonal skills and teamwork

• Become effective collaborators

• Become intrinsically motivated to learn

• .....

Benefits of PBL

Academic literature identifies several criticisms to PBL:

• Students show initial resistance to self-directed learning

• PBL is less effective with early students

• PBL is time consuming for students and professors

• Preparing PBL courses implies heavy work-load

• Implementing PBL requires a lot of resources, planning and organization

• Well-trained facilitators are critical to the success of PBL

• It is difficult to carry out individual evaluations

• .....

Criticisms to PBL

Applying PBL to solving urban problems presents several challenges:

• High complexity of urban issues that require multiple experts (architects, planners, engineers, sociologists, economists, etc.)

• Ample diversity of local stakeholders

• Continuous change of urban processes

• Variety of urban scales

• Existence of numerous alternative solutions

• PBL could be easily applied in “Studio Teaching” courses, but not so easy on the rest of the academic curriculum (?)

• .....

Challenges of PBL in the urban context

• Preserve students initiative along the whole process

• Choose complex urban problems that demand multidisciplinary collaboration

• Promote collaborative planning with local stakeholders by involving local politicians and planning officials

• Stimulate international cooperation among EU & LA cases

• Incorporate new technologies and tools in the process

Citylab PBL requirements

Conceptual framework

Basic elements of a conceptual framework

Problemdefinition

Courseassessment

Stakeholders involvement

Students involvement

Professors involvement

The urban environment is not only operational complex and social diverse, but it is also structured in various scales:

• Small urban scale usually covers a limited number of city elements as the ones encountered around public spaces,

such as squares, or in a building block

• Intermediate urban scale covers a sizeable portion of a city such as residential neighbourhoods or commercial districts

• Large urban scale usually covers a whole city, including peri-urban areas

Urban scales

Intermediate urban scale

Adapting the framework to an intermediate scale project

Problemdefinition

Courseassessment

Stakeholders involvementMunicipal elected politicians, municipal planners, businesses, citizens associations, ...

Students involvement

Professors involvementSpecialists, facilitators, providers of analytical tools & data, teaching facilities, ...

Analysis

DIAGNOSIS

Plan Implementation

PROPOSAL

IMPLEMENT

PLAN

Data collection

Data analysis

Urban area description

Alternativescenarios

Strategies

Desired plan

Implementationactions

Implementationactors

Economicprogramme

Activating stakeholders & professors in an intermediate scale

Problemdefinition

Courseassessment

Stakeholders involvement

Students involvement

Professorsinvolvement

Analysis

DIAGNOSIS

Plan Implementation

PROPOSAL

Data collection

Data analysis

Urban area description

Alternativescenarios

Strategies

Desired plan

Implementationactions

Implementationactors

Economicprogramme

Tutorials, tools & sources

Tutorials, tools & sources

Tutorials, tools & sources

Workshop Workshop WorkshopInterviews InterviewsInterviews

IMPLEMENT

PLAN

Workshop&

EvaluationFinal

EvaluationWorkshop

&Evaluation

Workshop&

Evaluation

Small urban scale

Problemdefinition

Courseassessment

Students involvement

Analysis

TARG

ET D

EFIN

ITIN

ON

/ PRI

ORI

TY A

CTIO

NS Design Development

DEC

ISIO

N-M

AKI

NG

/ FIN

AL

PRO

POSA

L

Data collection

Data analysis

Urban spacedescription

Evaluation of proposals

Desired design

Technical definition

PUBL

IC E

XHIB

ITIO

N P

ROJE

CT

Needs assessment

Design alternatives

Economic budget

Adapting the framework to a small scale project

Stakeholders involvementDistrict elected politician, municipal manager, shop owners, neighbours, users, ...

Professors involvementSpecialists, facilitators, providers of analytical tools & data, teaching facilities, ...

Executionprogramme

Problemdefinition

Courseassessment

Students involvement

Professorsinvolvement

Analysis

TARG

ET D

EFIN

ITIN

ON

/ PRI

ORI

TY A

CTIO

NS Design Development

DEC

ISIO

N-M

AKI

NG

/ FIN

AL

PRO

POSA

L

Data collection

Data analysis

Urban spacedescription

Evaluation of proposals

Desired design

Tutorials, tools & sources

Tutorials, tools & sources

Tutorials, tools & sources

Workshop&

Evaluation

PUBL

IC E

XHIB

ITIO

N P

ROJE

CT

Needs assessment

Stakeholders involvement Workshop Workshop WorkshopInterviews InterviewsInterviews

Workshop&

EvaluationWorkshop

&Evaluation

FinalEvaluation

Activating stakeholders & professors in a small scale

Design alternatives

Technical definition

Economic budget

Executionprogramme

Concluding remarks

Each course module should:

• Design a preliminary framework for its specific module

• Display the final framework generated during the course

• Determine the gaps between preliminary and final framework

• Assess critically the pros and cons of the PBL process using the framework

• Recommend improvements for future courses using the framework

Instructions for applying the framework

A conceptual framework may be useful for:• Mapping the different actors and operations involved in applying

PBL to the urban context

• Identifying links among actors and operations

• Displaying a schematic guidelines for facilitators

• Spotting critical steps in the learning process

• Assessing the weaknesses and strengths of PBL courses

• Structuring Citylab’s outcomes for future publications

• Differentiating PBL implementation in diverse urban scales

• Comparing a large and diverse set of PBL modules with the same framework

• .....

Usefulness of a conceptual framework

The application of this conceptual framework to Citylabcourses should be crossed with the assessment tool:

• Have participants enjoyed learning more with PBL than with traditional teaching methods?

• Have students felt being treated as mature professionals?

• Have they improved their interpersonal skills?

• Have they improved their analytical competences?

• Have they learnt to prioritize time and resources?

• Have they learnt team working and task sharing?

• ......

Crossing the framework with an assessment tool

Thanks for your attention

José-Miguel Fernández-Güell (josemiguel.fernandez@upm.es)

Isabel González (isabel.gonzalez@upm.es)