Problem-based
learning (PBL) has been around for over five decades. Originally developed to
enhance medical students abilities in clinical settings. According to our
reading it was found that the transition from these students abilities or
increased by putting students in the situation where they had to come up with
solutions to real-world problems. Later the use of PBLs expanded into other
disciplines such as math, science and even social studies. In these other
educational settings students are challenged to identify problems, come up with
solutions and test their solutions.
This
week’s reading provided a great deal of information in regards to PBL. The
authors provided a rich history with information on initial medical education
as well as PBL’s outside of the medical field. According to the authors there
have been various results of implementations in various settings K-12 stating:
First, PBL have shown to be effective in conveying a
variety of content areas-for example, mathematics, science, literature,
history, and microeconomics. Second, PBL has been implemented effectively and
schools in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Third, PBL’s can be used
effectively and a wide range of student populations-for example, gifted
elementary-, middle-, and high-, as well as low income students school students
(Hung, Jonassen, & Liu, 2007, p. 487)
This shows that the use
of PBL can be very effective in many different areas.
There is also section and the reading about assumptions
and characteristics. One of the most interesting assumptions, in my opinion, is
that many believe that learning only takes place in formal educational settings;
learning does not take place outside of the school. I see this as a major
misconception. I believe that the majority of learning and/or cementing
understanding occurs as we live our day-to-day lives. Some of the
characteristics that were given are that ill structured problems give students
an opportunity to become skilled in organizing as opposed to following a hierarchical
list of topics, it student centered, it is self-directed and collaborative, and
involves self-reflection, teachers are facilitators only in assisting and not
providing solutions to problems (Hung, Jonassen, & Liu, 2007).
I found that the research results were very interesting
and that in many instances those involved in PBL did not outperform students
who engaged in traditional learning. This makes me think less about the value
of PBL and more about how well it was executed. PBL students tended to have
content retention over long-term better than traditional students proving one
of the benefits of its use. Also, students engaging in PBL developed better
skills in problem-solving. There was also an increase in students’ abilities to
use higher order thinking proved by their ability to generate much more
accurate hypothesis as well as coherent explanations for their hypothesis (Hung,
Jonassen, & Liu, 2007).
I found the Implementation of PBL section to
be the best and most informative part of the chapter. This section provided a
great deal of detail in the role of the student, tutors role as well as tutors’
issues. There is also a section about the group processing, and assessment
issues. There is also a section on curriculum design in PBL. Finally there is a
section providing information on technology in PBL. These sections provides a
great deal of information which can be used by anybody who is in the process of
designing PBL for use in any discipline, and any age group, and any
circumstance.
Last
part of the chapter provides information on direction for future research. With
topics such as problem types and PBL, internal factors and PBL, and designing
distributed PBL. This last part also provides information on implementing PBL.
A possible project involving PBL could be in looking for possible solutions to
lack of water resources on both sides of the border in the area in which we
live.
References
Hung, W.,
Jonassen, D. H., & Liu, R. (2007). Problem-based learning. In J. M. Spector,
M. D. Merrill, J. Van Merrienboer (Eds), Handbook Of Research on Educational
Communications and Technology (pp. 485-500). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis
Group
Cameron,
ReplyDeleteThis week’s reading introduced us with problem-based learning that can be used in a wide range student population (gifted and talented, elementary school, middle school, and high school) as well as with low income students. Your reflection made that connection alongside with the suggestion that learning does occur outside of school and in everyday life. I absolutely agree with you, low income or minority students bring diversity to the classroom through their past and daily experiences therefore learning does indeed happen outside of school. For future reference, when stating an opinion or misconception you have, like the one about students learning outside of the school, it would be valuable to give an example of how they learn. For example, through experiences, home culture, interactions with peers, and exploring. The proposal idea you have stated on PBL solutions for the lack of water resources on both sides of the border in our area is brilliant. You have stated before that at the school you teach, you give your students the opportunity to learn in a student-centered practice, have you used PBL learning as well? And if not, would you?
Hello Cameron,
ReplyDeleteI agree that learning takes place throughout our lives and not just in schools. Expanding upon your statement, I think it is also a misconception that teachers can only impact learning in schools. If students are given the right toolkit of skills, we as educators can help them learn more from experiences they have in their own lives in the future. I am a little confuse by your project proposal. While it is an interesting subject, I don’t think it is clear quite how PBL would be implemented in it. What method would you use to allow students to try and solve a problem as large as water resources in the desert?
-SFM
Hello Cameron,
ReplyDeleteI love your summary! Good points covered on its history and the original purpose of problem based learning. I agree that the implementation portion was quite detailed and extensive in its explanation. I was wondering about your project proposal? What kind of questions could your students derive from the lack of water in both sides of the border? Would they investigate the actual water usage on both sides of the border? Would you consider the project taking a different perspective into analyzing the cleanliness/purity of the water on either side? This would be fascinating!