Pulaski Community School District
Problem-Based Learning: Characteristics of PBL
1. Students are presented with a problem.
The problem…
- is open-ended
- has no right or wrong answer, but reasonable solutions based on the student’s application of knowledge and skills
- comes before the knowledge needed to solve or resolve it
- drives the curriculum and the skills learned
- is typically in the form of “cases”, narratives of complex, real-world challenges common to the content areas being studied.
2. Roles of Teacher and Student Change
- Students take control of their learning; increasingly independent of the teacher for their education.
- Teacher provides materials and guidance that facilitate learning; coach, mentor, tutor role.
- Centered on what students do, rather than what teachers do
3. Collaboration is essential.
Learners work collaboratively in small groups (typically with defined roles) to…
- pose and answer their own questions using prior knowledge
- choose resources; gain knowledge from multiple sources
- develop solutions
- evaluate findings; create additional questions
- Reflect on the process and solution
4. Skills are reflective of the real world.
- Problem is a real-world task- problems are relevant and contextual.
- It is in the process of struggling with actual problems that students learn content and critical thinking skills.
- When possible, students present final projects to an authentic audience
- Knowledge, understanding and skills are not seen as distinct elements but integrated
- Content areas are integrated and not separate from each other
5. Assessment and feedback are ongoing and frequent.
- Summative assessment is sparingly used
- Teacher acts as tutor, giving feedback throughout project to individual groups: posing questions to help the groups improve their solution, think about another perspective, use sources not considered, etc.
- Reflection is an integral part of the learning process: students reflect throughout the process of solving the problem by continually creating new questions and developing theories or solutions based on their findings
- Student performance is evaluated by instructors, peers, and self using questionnaires, interviews, observation, and other assessment methods
What do students learn through PBL?
- Problem-solving skills
- Self-directed learning skills
- Skills in posing useful questions
- Skills in applying knowledge learned
- Teamwork skills
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills
- Ability to find/use appropriate resources
- Research and information handling skills
- Critical thinking
- Congruence with workplace skills
- Time management skills
- Meets the needs of different learning styles and skill levels
- Promotes a positive and collaborative classroom environment
- Motivates bored or indifferent students
- Helps students understand how what they are learning applies to life outside of school
Sample Problems or “Cases”
Projects Versus Activity-based Teaching Strategies | ||||||
Example Themes | Activity-based Instruction | Project Based Learning | Differences between the two instructional strategies | |||
Civil War Battles | Take a field trip to Gettysburg. Write a report on the experience. | Investigate the question “How could wars be made more humane?” Use Gettysburg as an example of a high-casualty battle, comparing it to other battles. Complete a portfolio, including an essay and a literary response journal, and then conclude with a debate. | Students investigate an overall challenging question. Distinct activities are conducted in the context of the challenge. No single activity is likely to be sufficient for responding to the challenge. | |||
Sound Pollution |
| Identify five sound pollution problems in the community. Form a task force to investigate the problems and devise technically feasible solutions for each. | Although the activity-based tasks are useful for instruction, the tasks themselves may not be provocative. The project-based approach, in contrast, defines an overarching challenge and embeds these tasks (listening, graphing, identifying features) in a meaningful community project. | |||
Ancient Architecture | Make posters depicting the architecture of ancient Egypt | Complete a case study on the pyramids using the question "How were the pyramids built?" to address five controversial issues: source of the design, source of materials, time to completion, method of transportation of materials, and contents of the chambers. | The project addresses the fundamental principles and issues. The project has an overarching question that engages students' critical thinking as well as their creativity. The project reflects current historical mysteries and investigations. | |||
Geometry | Observe and measure various school buildings and record data. | Design a "School of the Future" with scale drawings and models, taking into account the site and anticipated needs. Present plan to an audience of school officials or community experts. | This complex project goes beyond simply "getting students out of their seats." It requires application of concepts and defense of choices made. |
What is the difference between Problem-Based and Project- Based Learning?
Project-based learning is similar to problem-based learning in that the learning activities
are organized around achieving a shared goal (project). Within a project-based approach learners are usually provided with specifications for a desired end product (build a rocket, design a website, etc.) and the learning process is more oriented to following correct procedures. While working on a project, learners are
likely to encounter several “problems” that generate “teachable moments”. Teachers are more likely to be instructors and coaches (rather than tutors) who provide expert guidance, feedback and suggestions for “better” ways to achieve the final product. While cases and projects are excellent learner-centered instructional strategies, they tend to diminish the learner’s role in setting the goals and outcomes for the “problem.”
When the expected outcomes are clearly defined, then there is less need or incentive for the learner to set his/her own parameters. In the real world it is recognized that the ability to both define the problem and develop a solution (or range of possible solutions) is important.
References:
Overall principles and characteristics of problem-based learning http://www2.glos.ac.uk/offload/ceal/resources/overall.pdf
Problem Based Learning http://ldt.stanford.edu/~jeepark/jeepark+portfolio/PBL/whatis1.htm
Macy Roberts PBL PGU Presentation
John R. Saver. Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=ijpbl