Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) A vision for learning

What is PBL? • Problem-based learning is a pedagogical strategy for posing significant, contextualized, real world situations, and providing resources, guidance, and instruction to learners as they develop content knowledge and problem-solving skills (Mayo, Donnelly, Nash, & Schwartz, 1993).

What is Learning? Learning (is) a process that culminates in the ability: • to ask the right questions and frame good problems, • to acquire information and evaluate sources of information • to critically investigate and solve problems, • to make choices among many alternatives • to explain concepts to others (both verbally and in writing) and • to generalize to new situations." Ganter & Kinder, 1998)

Subject Based Learning Given problem to Illustrate how to use it START Told what we Need to know Learn It

Problem Based Learning Apply It Learn It Start Problem Posed Identify what we know And what we need To know

WHY PBL? • Corporations and employers have frequently and publicly complained about the lack of professional awareness and low level of communication and teamwork skills in engineering graduates

Required Skills (ABET Criteria 2000) • Independent and Interdependent learning; Lifelong learning skills • Problem solving; Critical thinking and; Creativity • Interpersonal/Group/Team skills • Communication skills • Assessment and self-assessment skills • Integration of disciplinary knowledge • Managing change

Why PBL Continued • Engineers are called to know vast amounts of information that is increasing more rapidly than the ability of the engineering curricula to cover it • Most of engineering is done cooperatively • Numerous surveys in industry place communication and teamwork at the top of their list of desirable skills for new engineering graduates

Why PBL? • Engineers are increasingly finding more non-traditional type employment • Cooperatively taught students tend to have: • Better and longer information retention • Higher grades • More highly developed critical thinking and problem solving skills • Better interpersonal and communication skills • Higher self-esteem • Lower levels of anxiety

Eight Tasks in PBL • Explore the problem, create hypotheses, identify issues, elaborate • Try to solve the problem with what you currently know to see what pertinent information you already know • Identify what you DO NOT know and therefore what you need to know because of your lack of knowledge is impeding the solution to the problem

Eight Tasks continued • Prioritize the learning needs; set learning goals and objectives; and allocate resources so that you know what is expected of you by when. For a group, members can identify which tasks each will do • Self-study and preparation

Eight Tasks continued • For a group, share the new knowledge effectively so that all the members of the group learn the information • Apply the knowledge to solve the problem • Give yourself feedback by assessing the new knowledge, the problem solution, and the effectiveness of the process used. Reflect on the process. • Woods, D. R. (1994). Problem-based Learning: How to Gain the most from PBL. Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University

BENEFITS OF PBL? • More effective learning of the subject • Knowledge stored in LTM as improved structure • Chance to develop “lifelong learning skills” • Coping with change • Problem solving • Communication • Interpersonal • Self-assessment

CHALLENGES • May be uncomfortable with PBL • Amount of information learned in each case may be less that what we would like to know (need vs. want) • Seems that it takes longer to learn the same subject knowledge • Need to develop problem solving skills and awareness of our learning process

What is the most meaningful insight that you have gained about PBL?

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)