University of Delaware

Workshop for Animal Science Education Consortium

December 16-17, 2002

Experience It Yourself:An Introduction to

Problem-Based Learning

Institute for TransformingUndergraduate Education

George Watson Hal White ghw@udel.edu halwhite@udel.edu

The Way It Was... 1973 2002

Computation

graphing calculators,laptops,

gigabytes and gigahertz

The Way It Was... 1973 2002

Communication

e-mail,voice-mail,chatrooms,

FAX,pagers,

cell phonesinstant messaging,

wireless connectivity

The Way It Was... 1973 2002

Collections

Online Information:web catalogs,

networked databases,Britannica Online, online newspapers,

course websites,CMS

Problem-Based Learningand the Cs of Technology:

Computation and Calculation

Communication and Collaboration

Collections and Connections

Given the amazing advances in technology

and the dramatic change in the first-year experience,

Can we afford to continue teaching the way we were taught?

…the individuals learning the most in [teacher-centered classrooms] are the professors. They have reserved for themselves the very conditions that promote learning:

What I know best I have taught…

Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000

actively seeking new information,integrating it with what is known,organizing it in a meaningful way, andhaving a chance to explain it to others.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Knowledge is transmitted from professor to student.

Students construct knowledge through gathering and synthesizing information and integrating it with the general skills of inquiry, communication, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Students passively receive information.

Students are actively involved.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Emphasis is on acquisition of knowledge outside the context in which it will be used.

Emphasis is on using and communicating knowledge effectively to address enduring and emerging issues and problems in real-life contexts.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Instructor’s role is to be the primary information giver.

Instructor’s role is to coach and facilitate.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Emphasis is on right answers.

Emphasis is on generating better questions and learning from errors.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Focus is on a single discipline.

Approach is compatible with interdisciplinary investigation.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Culture is competitive and individualistic.

Culture is cooperative, collaborative, and supportive.

Comparison of Paradigms

Teacher-Centered

Learner-Centered

Only students are viewed as learners.

Instructors and students learn together.

Comparison of Paradigms

Characteristics Neededin College Graduates

High level of communication skills

Ability to define problems, gather and evaluate information, develop solutions

Team skills -- ability to work with others

Ability to use all of the above to address problems in a complex real-world setting

Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education (1994) Wingspread Conference,ECS, Boulder, CO.

Recommendations from theCarnegie Foundation

Make research-based learning the standard.

Build inquiry-based learning throughout the four years.

Link communication skills and course work.

Use information technology effectively.

Cultivate a sense of community.

Boyer Commission Report

What is Problem-Based Learning?

PBL prepares students to think critically and analytically, and to find and use appropriate learning resources.

PBL is an instructional method that challenges students to “learn to learn,” working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real world problems.

“The principal idea behind PBL is that the starting point for learning should be a problem, a query, or a puzzle that the learner wishes to solve.”Boud (1985)

What are the CommonFeatures of PBL?

Learning is initiated by a problem.

Problems are based on complex, real-world situations.

All information needed to solve problem is not initially given.

Students identify, find, and use appropriate resources.

Students work in permanent groups.

PBL: The Process

Students are presented with a problem. They organize ideas and previous knowledge.

Students pose questions, defining what they know and do not know.

Assign responsibility for questions, discuss resources.

Reconvene, explore newly learned information, refine questions.

The Problem-Based Learning Cycle

OverviewProblem, Project, or Assignment

Group Discussion

Research

Group Discussion

Preparation of Group “Product”

Whole Class Discussion

Mini-lecture

(Assessment)

Outcomes?

Moving away from:

Are students getting the right answer?

Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000

Moving to:

Can students demonstrate the qualities that we value in educated persons, the qualities we expect of college graduates?

Outcomes?

Moving to:

Can students gather and evaluate new information, think critically, reason effectively, and solve problems?

Outcomes?

Moving to:

Can [students] communicate clearly, drawing upon evidence to provide a basis for argumentation?

Outcomes?

Moving to:

Do [students’] decisions and judgments reflect understanding of universal truths[/concepts] in the humanities and arts [etc.]?

Outcomes?

Moving to:

Can [students] work respectfully and productively with others?

Outcomes?

Moving to:

Do [students] have self-regulating qualities like persistence and time management that will help them reach long-term goals?

Outcomes?

The principal idea behind PBL is?

A. PBL challenges students to learn to learn.

B. Learning is initiated by a problem.

C. Student-centered work in permanent groups.

“The principal idea behind PBL is that the starting point for learning should be a problem, a query, or a puzzle that the learner wishes to solve.”Boud (1985)

The principal idea behind PBL is?

A. PBL challenges students to learn to learn.

B. Learning is initiated by a problem.

C. Student-centered work in permanent groups.

Think/ pair/ share

Forming GroupsHomogeneous vs. Heterogeneous

Your Class

“Homogeneous” Groups

“Heterogeneous” Groups

Student

Selected

InstructorSelected

Courtesy of Hal White

What Aspects of Heterogeneity are Important

for You?

Age?

Gender?

Skills?

Academic Record?

Personality Type?

Learning Style?

Ethnici

ty?

Major?

If you know you want to form heterogeneous groups, but don’t

know critical information about your students, what can you do?

Let the students help you.

Forming Heterogeneous Groups Without Prior

Information• If you are in Animal Nutrition, add 25 25• If you are in Animal Physiology, add 50 -• If you are in Agricultural Management, add 75 -• If you are in none of the above, add 100 -

When you have calculated Your Number,line up in numerical order.

• If you are Male, add 100 100• If you are Female, add 200 -

• Sum the digits of your Social Security Number 43• Sum the seven digits of your office Phone Number 31• GRAND TOTAL (Your Number) 199

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Chickens You Can’t Count on

Courtesy of Alberta Canada Poultry Conservation Program 'Rare Breed' Collection www.agric.gov.ab.ca/images/livestock/aprc/rarebreed_scwl.jp

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 1 - Hens rescued from the pot.

• If you were Prof. Maw, what could you conclude from the information provided?

• What questions would you have?

• How would you figure out the problem with the hens/eggs?

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 2 - What color is egg white?

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 2 - What color is egg white?

Predict what happened when Prof. Maw mated the F1 siblings and incubated their eggs without injecting FMN.

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 3 - Fluorescent “egg”citement

Fl

uo

re sc en ce

Squirts of riboflavin solution

Mutant albumen

Normal albumen

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 3 - Fluorescent “egg”citement

Fl

uo

re sc en ce

Squirts of riboflavin solution

Mutant albumen

Normal albumen

What are the implications of this experiment?

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 4 – Burning Chicken Fat

PBL: Experience It Yourself

Stage 4 – Burning Chicken Fat

How might riboflavin deficiency lead to embryonic death?

Compelling Features of PBLfor New Adapters

Models itself on how students learn.

With information overload, prepares students to be life-long learners.

More realistic curriculum prepares students for world outside the classroom.

Ensures more up-to-date materials, content.

Generates enthusiasm among faculty.Boud and Feletti, 1998

Reflections and Questions