PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

1. PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING Instructional Strategies for More Effective Teaching September 12, 2009 Quito, Ecuador Lorena Alvear Peter Baum Patricia Goering Heather Honeycutt Paul Landry Carrie Messener

2. LEARNING GOALS Learners will understand the basic process of effective PBL We will be able to explore concrete ways in which we can implement and incorporate PBL into our own curriculum.

3. OUTLINE Exploration Phase – Sample PBL Lessons Content Discussion Extension/Group Discussion Panel Wrap Up and Reflection Questions

4. You Decide! Decide whether each example is: an activity or problem/project-based learning. Give each person at least one piece of paper. Everyone is responsible for the initial classification of their example. The group must reach consensus about the final decisions.

5. Based on your sorting and prior knowledge, what makes problem/project-based learning (PBL) different than activities? What more would your group like to know in order to implement PBL in your classroom? So what?

6. What is Problem Based Learning?

7. Problem-Based Learning is an instructional strategy that accesses higher-order thinking skills by asking students to solve open ended problems.

8. What does that mean?

9. real-world target curriculum inquiry

10. What are other characteristics of Problem Based Learning?

11. Develop vs. testing of skills Open ended Learner-centered Life-long learners

12. What does Problem Based Learning look like?

14. What about assessment?

15. Teacher Flexibility Individual and Group Curriculum Content

16. Challenges is PBL Instruction 1. Increased relative costs Possibly lower content coverage (Mitchell ,1993)(although more enduring) Greater planning time Students & teachers uncomfortable with process http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/may4/finucane/finucane.html (The Medical Journal of Australia)Albanese.

17. Why PBL Instruction Cognitive research findings: Thomas, (2000) Oriented motivation --> sustained engagement. Novice / expert difference --> meta-cognition and self regulation. Maximum learning --> real life context. Problem solving --> enduring and flexible PBL addresses all these findings.

18. Why PBL Instruction Important characteristics: (Schmidt & Loyens, 2006) Teachers as facilitators Prior knowledge activation Constructivist Learning Theory

19. What do studies indicate about PBL instruction acrossdisciplines and age groups Difficult to compare / generalize Lack of control variables Interesting trends were observed Walker & Leary attempt quantify outcomes from PBL cases studies conducted from 1967 to 2007 (Ravitz, 2009)

20. Assessment Tool • PBL outcomes depend on kind of assessment used. (Ravitz, 2009) • PBL vs. teacher centered instruction • as well or slightly below in concept standardized tests • significantly higher level in skilled based tests • less effective short term learning • Standardized Tests that measures basic concepts Measure skills

21. Discipline (Ravitz, 2009) • Different results per disciplines • No explanation offered • PBL favor skill learning • Teachers need to refer to research in their own discipline and rely on result observations in their own classrooms

22. Problem Based Instruction And Learning Can we talk?

23. SKILLS What Skills Do Students Use in PBL? What Learning Styles are most Effectively Engaged? How Can You Promote/ Emphasize Use of Certain Skills?

24. Problem or Project? Thinking Level Complexity What is the Difference? What factors Inform Your Choice of Strategy? Learning Objective PBL Process – Output

25. Assessment Determining What to Assess Teacher Involvement Formative vs. Comprehensive?

26. Practical Application • Reasons You Would or Would Not Use PBL in Your Classroom. • Resources • Time • Understanding / Competence

27. Wrap Up and Reflection • Were our learning goals met during this presentation? • What other additional information would you like on Problem Based Learning?

28. References: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/may4/finucane/finucane.html (The Medical Journal of Australia) Mitchell S. (1993) Problem-based learning: A review of literature on its outcomes and implementation issues. Acad Med ; 68: 52-81 Thomas, John W (2000). A Review on Research on Project-Based Learning. www.bie.org/index.php/site/RE/pbl_research/29 Schmidt , Loyens (2006) . Problem-Based Learning is Compatible with Human Cognitive Architecture: Commentary on Kirschner, Educational Psychologist, 91-97 Ravitz , Jason (2009) Summarizing Findings and Looking Ahead to a New Generation of PBL Research. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning. Vol 3 . No1.4-11

29. Problem Based Learning. 09 September 2009. The Higher Education Academy. 09 September 2009. (http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/resources/project_reports/ShowOverview.asp?id=.) Problem Based Learning. 09 September 2009 . Stanford University. 09 September 2009. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ ~jeepark/jeepark+portfolio/PBL/whatis1.htm.Problem Based Learning Faculty Institute. 09 September 2009. University of California Irvine. 09. September 2009. http://www.pbl.uci.edu/whatispbl.html. References:

30. Additional Resources: • University of Delaware, Problem Based Learning (contains sample problems) http://www.udel.edu/pbl/ • Project Based Learning, The Online Resource for PBL: http://pbl-online.org/ • The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ijpbl/ • The National Teaching and Learning Forum: http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9812/pbl_1.htm • Problem Based Learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework http://crlt.indiana.edu/publications/journals/TR16-01.pdf