What is PBL and Why Use It?
As great educators, from John Dewey (Amador, Miles & Peters, 2006) to Piaget have advocated, people learn best by doing. Problem-based learning, or PBL, offers a strategy that allows students to not only learn by doing, but to put those oft-maligned mobile technology skills to use in the pursuit of that learning. PBL courses are structured around a series of problems that embed the course objectives in the solution to each problem. In place of either a lecture-based approach or a case-based approach, both of which first deliver the lessons and then assesses a student’s knowledge, PBL flips the learning process around by starting with a problem that embeds the module’s learning objectives. Students then search for solutions to the problem using course texts, identified web resources, and sources that they unearth on their own.
A “full-blown PBL approach” (Amador et al., 2006) differs from case-based and from other active-learning strategies in that the entire course is structured around a series of escalating problems, each of which integrates lessons learned in prior problems along with new learning objectives. The course includes no planned lectures, though “spot” lectures are used on a supplementary basis to clarify content if a significant number of students seem to be struggling with the material. The teacher’s role in a PBL course then becomes one of a coach and mentor rather than a lecturer.
How does technology come into play? Rather than fight the students’ natural inclination to network in a wired world, PBL courses encourage them to put their technological savvy to use in a way that enhances their learning. By encouraging them to use the web and their ability to network to find solutions to problems posed in the classroom, they become proficient at the three hallmarks of a PBL approach: identifying what they know, what they need to know, and what they need to do in order to solve problems. The learning agility acquired by mastering this self-directed approach to learning gives students a tool set they can apply to a broad array of problems rather than only those problems similar to ones assigned in class or on a test.
In addition to problem-solving skills, PBL also builds two other skills identified as critical 21st century workforce skills, namely cooperation and competition (Stewart, 2009). The students work in groups that are dependant upon one another for learning, not just for assessment. Thus, it is important to select the groups carefully and to implement a strategy(ies) that ensures each student carries their own weight. Competition among groups is encouraged as the groups seek to find the first or most viable solution. Groups are encouraged to learn from one another as well, which feeds both the elements of competition and cooperation.
PBL earned its stripes in medical schools where it was embraced early as a solution to the increasingly complex world of medicine. As Med School administrators accepted the impossibility of teaching future doctors everything they would need to know in a rapidly changing world, many shifted the focus to PBL’s promise of teaching students how to solve problems and find solutions. Thus, much of the evidence for the effectiveness of PBL comes from medical schools. The conclusion of one meta-analysis of the effectiveness of PBL in medical schools (Does problem-based learning work?) succinctly summarizes the research support for PBL:
The comparative value of PBL is also supported by data on outcomes that have been studied less frequently,
i.e., faculty attitudes, student mood, class attendance, academic process variables, and measures of humanism.
In conclusion, the results generally support the superiority of the PBL approach over more traditional methods.
While PBL started in medical schools, the use of this pedagogy spread first to other professional schools like MBA programs, then to colleges, and is currently embraced in numerous K-12 settings. It is also the approach embraced by programs designed to fast-track critical skill building, such as the Accelerator summer program for undergraduates in the Owen school, and the Nashville headquartered Youth About Business that partners with Owen, Columbia and the University of Chicago to increase both the high school graduation and college participation rates of minority teen-agers.
Note: See Resources tab for references listed above.
A “full-blown PBL approach” (Amador et al., 2006) differs from case-based and from other active-learning strategies in that the entire course is structured around a series of escalating problems, each of which integrates lessons learned in prior problems along with new learning objectives. The course includes no planned lectures, though “spot” lectures are used on a supplementary basis to clarify content if a significant number of students seem to be struggling with the material. The teacher’s role in a PBL course then becomes one of a coach and mentor rather than a lecturer.
How does technology come into play? Rather than fight the students’ natural inclination to network in a wired world, PBL courses encourage them to put their technological savvy to use in a way that enhances their learning. By encouraging them to use the web and their ability to network to find solutions to problems posed in the classroom, they become proficient at the three hallmarks of a PBL approach: identifying what they know, what they need to know, and what they need to do in order to solve problems. The learning agility acquired by mastering this self-directed approach to learning gives students a tool set they can apply to a broad array of problems rather than only those problems similar to ones assigned in class or on a test.
In addition to problem-solving skills, PBL also builds two other skills identified as critical 21st century workforce skills, namely cooperation and competition (Stewart, 2009). The students work in groups that are dependant upon one another for learning, not just for assessment. Thus, it is important to select the groups carefully and to implement a strategy(ies) that ensures each student carries their own weight. Competition among groups is encouraged as the groups seek to find the first or most viable solution. Groups are encouraged to learn from one another as well, which feeds both the elements of competition and cooperation.
PBL earned its stripes in medical schools where it was embraced early as a solution to the increasingly complex world of medicine. As Med School administrators accepted the impossibility of teaching future doctors everything they would need to know in a rapidly changing world, many shifted the focus to PBL’s promise of teaching students how to solve problems and find solutions. Thus, much of the evidence for the effectiveness of PBL comes from medical schools. The conclusion of one meta-analysis of the effectiveness of PBL in medical schools (Does problem-based learning work?) succinctly summarizes the research support for PBL:
The comparative value of PBL is also supported by data on outcomes that have been studied less frequently,
i.e., faculty attitudes, student mood, class attendance, academic process variables, and measures of humanism.
In conclusion, the results generally support the superiority of the PBL approach over more traditional methods.
While PBL started in medical schools, the use of this pedagogy spread first to other professional schools like MBA programs, then to colleges, and is currently embraced in numerous K-12 settings. It is also the approach embraced by programs designed to fast-track critical skill building, such as the Accelerator summer program for undergraduates in the Owen school, and the Nashville headquartered Youth About Business that partners with Owen, Columbia and the University of Chicago to increase both the high school graduation and college participation rates of minority teen-agers.
Note: See Resources tab for references listed above.