University of Delaware

Asia-Pacific Conference on EducationNational Institute of Education, Nanyang Technogical University

Singapore, June 4, 2003

www.udel.edu/pbl/nie-2003

The Power of PBL:Bringing Problem-Based Learning

into Your Classroom(Part I)

Institute for TransformingUndergraduate Education

George Watsonghw@udel.edu

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

What I know best I have taught…

Page 35, 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, andexplaining it to others.

First, an exercise:

1. Individually, write down five words or short phrases that come to mind when you think of:

Student-Centered Learning2. In pairs or small groups, select three

“most important”.

3. Finally, report out just one.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-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.

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

Students passively receive information.

Students are actively involved.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-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

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

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

Instructor’s role is to coach and facilitate.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

Emphasis is on right answers.

Emphasis is on generating better questions and learning from errors.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

Focus is on a single discipline.

Approach is compatible with interdisciplinary investigation.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

Culture is competitive and individualistic.

Culture is cooperative, collaborative, and supportive.

Comparison of Paradigms

Instructor-Centered

Learner-Centered

Only students are viewed as learners.

Instructors and students learn together.

Comparison of Paradigms

PBL:Experience It Yourself

Stage 1: Where?

Pat: I was. What’s that have to do with anything?

Kim: I can’t believe you’re leaving again next week! Weren’t you just on a trip two weeks back?

Pat: We talked about this months ago. I committed to this trip almost a year ago.

Kim: Weren’t you there just last December?

Kim: Haven’t you been following the news? Things are different now. Lots of things!

Pat: Like what?

Kim: You’re impossible! You need to get your head out of your precious journals and read the paper occasionally.

Pat: OK. OK. Just tell me what’s bothering you? I travel all the time. What’s gotten into you about this trip?

Questions for Stage 1:

1. What is the problem?

2. What things might be troubling Kim?

3. What should Pat do next?

Stage 2: WHO?

4. What things might be troubling Kim? Refine the list of things identified in Stage 1.

5. What does Pat need to know to assure Kim about his travel plans?

6. What should we ask Kim about Pat to determine if her concerns are legitimate?

Pat Nostaw is heading to Singapore for an international education conference. Following several days at the conference, he is traveling to Kuala Lumpur to visit a university there. After that he is heading home to New York City.

Stage 3: When?

7. How does the list of ‘troubling things’ change for this different destination?

8. What are the top three worries you would have about this trip?

Pat’s collaborator Tan is planning a trip to New York City from Singapore in December to complete the final project report.

Quick Review ofProblem-Based Learning

“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.

Overview

Problem, Project, or Assignment

Group Discussion

Research

Group Discussion

Preparation of Group “Product”

Whole Class Discussion

Mini-lecture(as needed)

Assessment(when desired)

The Problem-Based Learning Cycle

UD PBL online

PBL at UDwww.udel.edu/pbl

PBL Clearinghousewww.udel.edu/pblc

Watson homepagewww.physics.udel.edu/~watson

This presentationwww.udel.edu/pbl/nie-2003