6. broad umbrella term
Individual students/groups of students seeking resolutions to
questions/issues, following own line of enquiry
contextualised questioning (building on existing knowledge)
leading to knowledge formation
develop problem solving skills, inquiring attitudes and lifelong
learning habits
tutor facilitates learning PBL main differences
•Problem first
•Structure and process
•Small groups
6
7. Grown since 1960s pioneered at McMaster
University
http://www.mcmaster.ca/home.cfm
with medical students (Howard Barrows)
Strong evidence that it works well!!!
Whole university approach: Maastricht
University
http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/AboutUM.htm
http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/Education/EducationalProf
ile/ProblemBasedLearning.htm
7
8. Can be used:
Small •Face-to-face
Traditional
group •Blended
lecture
learning •Fully online
Subject Problem
based based
Co-
Competitive
operative
learning
earning
8
9. Developing ‘skills’ and subject specific
reasoning skills
Learning takes place in ‘context’ for
students
Self-directed learning is promoted
Savin-Baden (1996)
source: Busfield, J & Peijs, T (2003) Learning Materials
in a Problem Based Course
9
10. Resources intensive
Stressful for staff and students
time intensive (Des Marchais, 1993)
Covering less curriculum content 80%
(Albanese and Mitchell, 1993)
Scenarios too ill-structured: students
disorientated (McLoughlin & Oliver,
online)
10
11. ill-structured
content threshold concepts
scenarios/triggers
Problems embedded in scenarios
Students discover problems
Learner ownership
In small groups (PBL tutorials)
Search for solutions
PBL tutor
11
13. stage 1: explore the problem
stage 2: discover known and unknown,
plan
stage 3 : research and share
stage 4: apply
stage 5: present
based on Mills, D (2006) Problem-based learning: An overview, available at
http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/resources/project_reports/ShowOverview.asp?id=4 [accessed 5
March 2010]
13
14. McLoughlin & Darvill (2006)
Part 1: trigger introduction
Search the problem
Ask each other
List what you know
Find out what the group doesn’t know
Outcomes and goals to be set
Part 2: trigger review
Review group learning
Part 3: presentation
Disseminate
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6WNX-
4NCK23P-1-
5&_cdi=6974&_user=899537&_pii=S0260691706000621&_origin=searc
h&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2007&_sk=999729995&view=c&wchp=dGL
bVzb-
zSkzV&md5=e5d5743a7dd6f2102fc36a75e6cdbb3f&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
14
15. I facilitate team I record what is
meetings/tutorials, said/agreed during
stimulate debate meetings,
make sure that everybody is record any issues
participating and that summarise and
the PBL process is used. synthesise
I also co-ordinate learning and
tasks (who does what and by
when)
I facilitate the PBL
process and
reflection, ask
open questions. I
need to
remember to I keep track of time
step back and during
not lecture! I share/read meetings/tutorials,
the problem remind team
scenario, members how
draw attention much time is left
to key elements
of the scenario
15
16. In your group explore the
photograph/scenario provided.
Apply the PBL approach to
identify the problem(s), define
intended learning outcomes and
come up with solutions.
stage 1: explore the problem
stage 2: discover known and
unknown, plan
stage 3 : research and share
stage 4: apply
Assessment criteria
•Issues identified
stage 5: present
•Solutions
16
17. “Just finished marking 150 essays, the one and only assignment for this
challenging module. Can’t understand why students don’t do well! Is one essay
too much? I have been using this essay title for the last 10 years – I love it! –
and students just don’t seem to engage with it, not even the brighter ones,
which is really strange!
I have given the students an extensive reading list and during the lectures I
always tell them that they can ask me if they don’t understand something. Not
sure what I am doing wrong… Students have never complained about anything
and the module evaluation is always positive.
They had a whole month to write the essay… but I know that many just do it a
few days before the handing in date. At least they hand it in I guess. Writing
feedback is a hard job! I don’t know these people. I see them 2h a week over
10 weeks and there are 150 of them in the lecture theatre. I find it really time
consuming and am not sure if they read it. Am I wasting my time?”
17
18. Think about the following:
•Could PBL features be used within lectures?
•Could PBL be used for large-group teaching?
•How could you use PBL in one of your modules?
18
20. UK Centre for Legal Education
http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/teachin
g-and-learning-practices/pbl/
PBL collection
http://delicious.com/chrissinerantzi/pbl
20
21. Albanese M A & Mitchell S (1993) Problem-based learning: a review of literature on its outcomes and
implementation issues. Acad Med, pp. 68: 52-81.
Barrows, H S (2000) Problem-based learning applied to medical education, Southern Illinois School of Medicine:
Illinois
Des Marchais, J E (1993) A student-centred, problem-based curriculum: 5 years' experience. Can Med Assoc J, pp.
1567-1572.
McLoughlin, M & Darvill, A (2007) Peeling back the layers of learning: A classroom model for problem-based
learning, in: Nurse Education Today , 27, pp. 271-277.
McLoughlin, C & Oliver, R (online) Problem-based learning (PBL):Developing learning capability through the
WWW, available at http://elrond.scam.ecu.edu.au/oliver/docs/99/ODLAA.pdf [accessed 11 February 2011]
Mills, D (2006) Problem-based learning: An overview, available at
http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/resources/project_reports/ShowOverview.asp?id=4 [accessed 5 March 2010]
Savin-Baden, M, (1996) Problem-based learning: a catalyst for enabling and disablling disjunction prompting
transitions in learner stances? Ph D thesis University of London. Institute of Education
Woods, D R (1994) How to Gain the Most from PBL, Hamilton: McMaster University
21
22. The EESL Module Team
Chrissi Nerantzi c.nerantzi@salford.ac.uk
Neil Currant n.currant@salford.ac.uk
University of Salford, Academic Development Unit
Twitter @pgcap
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