Problem-Based Learning:An Overview

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Problem-Based LearningAn Overview

• John Savery
• The University of Akron

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Context

• 1983 - undergraduate course on History of
  Education in Western Canada
• Professor told the history of the people who
  lived through the times using their diaries and
  journals.
• Major assignment for the class was to go into the
  archives of the museum and research a history and
  tell their story.

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Learning should be engaging

• Since then I have looked for instructional
  methods that work as well as that activity did
  for me.
• Simulations and games are a good strategy.
• Inquiry based, problem based and other
  experiential learning approaches are also very
  effective.

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Problem-Based Learning is

• an instructional (and curricular)
  learner-centered approach that empowers learners
  to conduct research, integrate theory and
  practice, and apply knowledge and skills to
  develop a viable solution to a defined problem.

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• Critical to the success of the PBL approach is
  the selection of ill-structured problems (often
  interdisciplinary) and a tutor who guides the
  learning process and conducts a thorough
  debriefing at the conclusion of the learning
  experience.

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Characteristics

1. Students must have the responsibility for their
   own learning.
2. The problem situations used must be
   ill-structured and allow for free inquiry.
3. Learning should be integrated from a wide range
   of disciplines or subjects.
4. Collaboration is essential.

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Characteristics

1. Outcomes of self-directed learning must be
   applied back to the problem with reanalysis and
   resolution.
2. Reflection and debriefing on what has been
   learned is essential.
3. Self and peer assessment is required at the
   completion of each problem and curricular unit.

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Characteristics

1. The activities carried out in problem-based
   learning must be those valued in the real world.
2. Examinations must measure student progress
   towards the goals of problem-based learning.
3. Problem-based learning must be the pedagogical
   base of the curriculum.

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Students must be responsible for their own
learning

• PBL is a learner-centered approach students
  engage with the problem with whatever their
  current knowledge or experience affords.
• Learner motivation increases when responsibility
  for the solution to the problem and the process
  rests with the learner and as student ownership
  for learning increases

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responsible for their own learning

• Inherent in the design of PBL is a public
  articulation by the learners of what they know
  and about what they need to learn more.
• Individuals accept responsibility for seeking
  relevant information and bringing that back to
  the group to help inform the development of a
  viable solution.

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Problems must be ill-structured and allow for
free inquiry

• Problems in the real world are ill-structured (or
  they would not be problems). A critical skill
  developed through PBL is the ability to identify
  the problem and set parameters on the development
  of a solution.
• Learners are less motivated and less invested in
  the development of the solution to a
  well-structured problem.

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Learning should be integrated from a wide range
of disciplines

• Students should be able to access, study and
  integrate information from all the disciplines
  that might be related to understanding and
  resolving a particular problem -- just as people
  in the real world must recall and apply
  information integrated from diverse sources in
  their work.

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wide range of disciplines

• The rapid expansion of information has encouraged
  a cross-fertilization of ideas and led to the
  development of new disciplines.
• Multiple perspectives lead to a more thorough
  understanding of the issues and the development
  of a more robust solution.

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Collaboration is essential

• In the world after school most learners will find
  themselves in jobs where they need to share
  information and work productively with others.
  PBL provides a format for the development of
  these essential skills.
• During a PBL session the tutor will ask questions
  of any and all members to ensure that information
  has been shared between members in relation to
  the groups problem.

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Apply outcomes of self-directed learning to the
problem with reanalysis and resolution

• The point of self-directed research is for
  individuals to collect information that will
  inform the groups decision-making process in
  relation to the problem.
• It is essential that each individual share
  coherently what he or she have learned and how
  that information might impact on developing a
  solution to the problem.

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Reflection and debriefing on what has been
learned is essential

• PBL is a very engaging, motivating and involving
  form of experiential learning, learners are often
  very close to the immediate details of the
  problem and the proposed solution.
• The purpose of the post-experience debriefing
  process (see Steinwachs, 1992 Thiagarajan, 1993
  for details on debriefing) is to consolidate the
  learning and ensure that the experience has been
  reflected upon.

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Reflect and debrief

• Barrows (1988) advises that learners examine all
  facets of the PBL process to better understand
• what they know
• what they learned
• how they performed.

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Self and peer assessment at the completion
problems and units

• These assessment activities are related to the
  reflection on knowledge gains.
• The significance of this activity is to reinforce
  the self-reflective nature of learning and
  sharpen a range of metacognitive processing
  skills.

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Activities carried out in PBL must be those
valued in the real world

• The selection of authentic problems in PBL is
  discussed extensively in Savery Duffy (1995),
  Stinson and Milter (1996), Wilkerson and
  Gijselaers (1996), and Macdonald (1997).
• The transfer of skills learned through PBL to a
  real world context is also noted by Bransford,
  Brown, Cocking (2000, p. 77).

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Exams must measure student progress toward PBL
goals

• The goals of PBL are both knowledge-based and
  process-based. Students need to be assessed on
  both dimensions at regular intervals to ensure
  that they are benefiting as intended from the PBL
  approach.
• Students are responsible for the content in the
  curriculum that they have covered through
  engagement with problems. They need to be able to
  recognize and articulate what they know and what
  they have learned.

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Use PBL as the pedagogical base of the curriculum

• A half-hearted approach to PBL is unlikely to
  succeed. A partial approach will inevitably fall
  back into didactic teacher-centered instruction
  as students learn that they can out-wait the
  teacher and the answers will be provided.
• Teachers considering PBL must understand what to
  expect and be prepared to stay with it until
  students are weaned from their teacher dependency.

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Questions?

• Covered a lot of elements so far and there are
  some others to discuss.
• When questions are finished lets work on a
  problem

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PBL and Storytelling

• PBL is a strategy that uses specific tactics to
  achieve the intended learning outcomes.
• Stories are used to set the problem for the
  learners.
• The characteristics of a good story compliment
  the setting of the problem.

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Some story characteristics

• Control of time and place.
• Control of characters in the story.
• Control of information.
• Control of events.

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Some PBL problem elements

• Initial parameters of problem provided in a story
  format
• Medical symptoms described
• General elements of situation described
• Characters/players/roles introduced
• Often elements of time and place (changes noted
  over time, symptoms related to change of place)

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PBL as curriculum

• Learners encounter problems that are authentic
  in the discipline.
• The selection of problems is deliberate.
• The problems selected are designed to integrate
  knowledge and practice.
• The debriefing is used to consolidate the
  learning.

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Problems as Stories

• Motivation is an important element in learning.
• Dramatic stories can help motivate the learners.
• Example asteroid problem, loss of habitat and
  extinction of a species, flooding prevention and
  the list goes on

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Wrap-up

• PBL as an instructional strategy empowers
  learners to develop viable solutions to
  ill-structured problems.
• Ill-structured problems may be presented
  effectively through stories.
• Learners will develop their own story as the
  develop a problem solution.