| Tutorial on Problem-Based LearningProblem-based learning is a system for organizing portions of a school's curriculum around ill-structured problems that help students simultaneously acquire new knowledge and experience in solving problems.
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Steps - Background - Socratic Taxonomy - Brainstorming - Research Plan - References
Problem-based learning and engaged learning enable students to actively participate in their learning while acquiring skills necessary to function in tomorrow's technological society. These online learner-centered units allow students to use the Internet as the organizer for their research study. The teacher provides importance guidance throughout the study.
Problem-based learning requires an artful combination of a skilled teacher/facilitator who recognizes the value of each step and who takes the time for proper preparation, assimilation, development and involvement. As a result students will:
- Engage - Define and investigate a research question or problem.
- Inquire and Investigate - Access, process, and apply information through a variety of resources including the use of current technology, i.e., Internet.
- Evaluate and Justify - Interpret results; develop solutions for real-world application.
- Communicate - Information, conclusions and personal responses.
As students begin the PBL process and progress through its stages, an observer may note the following steps:
After the Students are Introduced to the Problem:
- Learning? Students divide issues into "facts" and "opinions."
- Students form research teams around the issues.
- Students review what they know, and, more importantly, what they don't know.
- Students decide which topics will be tackled by individual team members based on talent or interest and which issues will become the task of the group at large.
- Teams develop a research plan to study their issue.
- Questions they consider may include:
- Are you sure of the "facts"?
- What else do we need to know?
- Where can we find the information that we need?
- When can we get this information?
- How will we get this information?
- How can we evaluate and justify this information?
- The class analyzes the feasibility of the individual research plans and investigates a practical application of a class research study.
- Teams conduct considerable research, largely via Internet, as teams challenge each other's findings.
- Students dismiss nondocumented information as unreliable and concentrate on supportable issues.
- Students massage these supportable issues in a final class research study.
- Individual teams complete tasks as the research continues.
- Students reconvene as a class and determine if all of the research issues have been resolved.
- Students attach old concepts to new ideas as they progress through the problem.
- Questions they consider may include:
- How are we doing?
- What's working?
- What is not working?
- How do we know?
- Students communicate their study results to a larger audience.