ProblemBased Learning: Experience It Yourself

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Problem-Based LearningExperience It Yourself
George Watsonghw_at_udel.edu with contributions
from Deborah Allen, Barbara DuchSusan Groh,
Valerie Hans, and Hal White
Institute for TransformingUndergraduate Education
University of Delaware
Workshops on Problem-Based LearningInternational
Islamic University Malaysia www.udel.edu/pbl/IIUM
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Delaware
Dela where?
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(No Transcript)
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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
actively seeking new information, integrating it
with what is known, organizing it in a meaningful
way, and explaining it to others.
Page 35, Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered
Assessment on College Campuses Shifting the
Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
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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.
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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
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John Dewey

• True learning is based on discovery guided by
  mentoring rather than the transmission of
  knowledge.

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PBLExperience It Yourself
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Stage 1 Where?
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Questions for Stage 1

• What is the problem?
• What things might be troubling Kim?
• What should Pat do next?

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Stage 2 WHO?
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.

• What things might be troubling Kim? Refine the
  list of things identified in Stage 1.
• What does Pat need to know to assure Kim about
  his travel plans?
• What should we ask Kim about Pat to determine if
  her concerns are legitimate?

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Stage 3 When?
Pats collaborator Tan is planning a trip to New
York City from Singapore in December to complete
the final project report.

• How does the list of troubling things change
  for this different destination?
• What are the top three worries you would have
  about this trip?

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What is Problem-Based Learning?
PBL is an learning approach that challenges
students to learn to learn, working
cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to
real world problems.

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

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• 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)

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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.

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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.

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The Problem-Based Learning Cycle
Assessment (when desired)
Overview
Problem, Project, or Assignment
Mini-lecture (as needed)
Group Discussion
Whole Class Discussion
Research
Preparation of Group Product
Group Discussion
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The principal idea behind PBL is?

• PBL challenges students to learn to learn.
• Learning is initiated by a problem.
• Student-centered work in permanent groups.

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• 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)

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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