Transcript Psychological Aspects of Learning and Teaching in

WS1 – Introduction to Problem based
Learning: The AAU Way
PBL as educational model and Practice at
Aalborg University
• Exercise
• PBL Aalborg practice:
• Teams, Projects and Problems
Lars Peter Jensen
Associated Professor at Automation and Control
Department of Electronic Systems
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35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
URL: http://es.aau.dk/staff/lpj
PBL Aalborg Practice
What are the key characteristics?
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35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
PBL Aalborg Practice
Three main characteristics
• Problem
• Project
• Team work
Examples mainly from Engineering
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35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
PBL Aalborg Model: Principles of
Project-organized problem-solving Learning
Literature
Lecture
Group studies
Problem
analysis
Problem
Solving
Report/
documentation
Tutorials
Field studies
Experiments
‘The Aalborg Experiment – project innovation in university
education’ - Kjaersdam & Enemark (1994)
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PBL Aalborg Model - practice
• Problems – question – wondering
within a frame
• a project each semester (1. year)
• each group has a group room
• group size of 6-8 students first year,
2-3 students the last year
• each group has at least one
supervisor
• self selected group and projects
within themes and disciplines
• group examination with individual
marking
Lectures
Lecture-related
8:15-10:00 Assignment 10:15-12:00
Supervision
-initiated & arranged by
students
Doing project
In groups
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Development of different Competences through the study
Method
Semester
Collaboration
method/
Method of
project
work/learning
Discipline
learning
Metods used
in industry
and
institutions
Scientific
method
1-2
3-6
7-8
9 - 10
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Team work
What ?
• A group of students working together on a
project
• They have to both carry out the project and
document the results
• Based on the documentation an oral
individual examination is held. Before the
examination the group presents the project
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Team work
Why ?
• A survey in 1997 showed that 75% of the companies
wanted new employees to have good skills in team
work
• Most engineers work in teams
• The individual student in the group learns from the
others (peer learning)
• Responsibility towards the group leads to very hard
work
• Group members provide social support, thus lower
drop-out rate
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Team work
How ?
• Each group has a group room
• Group size of 6-8 students first year, 2-3
students last year
• Students are in charge of forming groups
• New groups formed every semester
• Team building courses:
– Roles, communication, co-operation, conflicts
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Group
meeting
Social
activities
Brainstorm
Exam
Report writing
Studying engineering via
group projects
Multiple learning resources
Participating communities of practice
– active learning, communication,
organization, and management
Subgroup
work
Life
Disagreement
Presentation
Compromise
Discussion
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Projects
What ?
• A unique task
• Have a lot of complex activities
• Needs several people with different skills
• Have a final goal/objective
• Limited resources (time, money, people)
• Have to deliver a result at a given time:
– As a minimum a written report
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Projects
Why ?
• More and more companies use project
organization
• Much engineering work is performed as
projects
• Motivates the students and increases
student activity
• Secures deep learning in subjects covered
in the project
• Improves documentation skills
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Projects
How ?
• One project each semester
• Necessary theories and methods given in
(project) courses
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The New Aalborg Model
50%
courses
One
semester
50%
project
Course
Course
Course
5 ECTS
5 ECTS
5 ECTS
Project
15 ECTS
In groups up to 8 persons
Individual assessment
Self-selected groups
Appointed supervisor(s)
1 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) = 30 working hours
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Projects
How ?
• One project each semester
• Necessary theories and methods given in
project courses
• Each group has (at least) one supervisor
• Documentation:
– a written report, oral defence, (construction)
• Courses in:
– project management and planning
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Problem based project work - a model
Initial problem of the
project – what makes
you wonder?
Problem statement
Analysis of the
initial problem : based on the analysis
Statement of the
central themes and
elements of the question(s) which will be
problem. addressed in the project.
-Project limitations
-Project design
Addressing the
problemstatement
-Methods
-Theories
-Empirical work
-Finding a solution?
-Creating new
knowledge
Conclusions
Answering the
question of the
problem
statement.
Placing the
question into
other
perspectives
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Process oriented project work - a model
Establishing the
group as a team
Clarifying strengths
and weaknesses of
the group members,
group visions, and
expectations
What increases and
decreases motivation
for the work and the
team?
Defining individual
and collective
learning objectives
Establishing
structures for
knowledge sharing
and process
evaluation
First evaluation of work
process – do we reach
our objectives? Do we
work towards collective
goals? Do we share
motivation? Do we share
knowledge? How can we
strengthen the process?
Focus on evaluation of Reflections on the
the project content
project and team
and process:
process
•Sharing knowledge
Did we reach our
•Motivation
objectives?
•Collective goals
Why – why not?
•Team collaboration
What do we wish
Do we need to change
to do different in
strategies or
our next project?
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structures?
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The four phase model of a Project
Student
Project
too broad
Industriel
Project
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Test
Student
Project The ideal
Student Project
too narrow
35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
What is analysis?
Get an overview of the problem
• Asking Questions
• See Perspectives
Divide into different aspects
• Top Down
• Bottum Up
Look critically at all aspects
• Estimate
• Measure
• Compare
35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
How to start analysing –
presentation of two tools
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The six W- model
What?
Why?
Whom?
How?
•
Where?
Problem
When?
Post It Brain storm
1.
2.
3.
4.
Everybody writes keywords on Post It notes for 5 min
All notes are placed on the blackboard
All notes are read out
Everybody goes to the blackboard and structures the notes
together
35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
PROBLEM
What?
• It can be theoretical, practical, social, technical,
symbolic-cultural or scientific
• It grows out of students’ wondering within
different disciplines and professional environments
• It is the starting point directing the students’
learning process and situates the learning in a
context
• It may involve an interdisciplinary approach in
both the analysis and solving phase
• It has to be exemplary
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EXEMPLARITY
• Selection of relevant specific learning outcomes
and content/scientific knowledge that is
exemplary to overall learning outcomes
• That is, the problem needs to refer back to a
particular practical, scientific and/or technical
domain
• The problem should stand as one specific
example of more general learning outcomes
related to knowledge and/or modes of inquiry
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Problems
Three different types of problem based projects at AAU:
Assignment projects (AP)
– planning and control by the teachers/supervisors
– problem and the subject chosen beforehand
Subject projects (SP)
– definition of the subject by the teachers
beforehand.
– students choose a problem and method.
Problem projects (PP)
– problem determines the choice of disciplines and
methods.
35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
Problems
Why ?
• Real world problems are interdisciplinary and
complex
• It is a learner-centred process
• It meets the learners' interests and enhances
motivation
• It emphasizes development of analytical,
methodological and transferable skills
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AAU students on problems
• ”We are engineers – our responsibility is to solve real
technological problems.”
• ”This is the first time we found a real problem ourselves rather
than getting something from supervisors. It is really exciting. It
fits my way of learning. I learn better when I find the way
myself. This way of learning is much better than only
attending lectures, because I have to know why I need to learn
this. When I know the objective clearly, I learn much better.”
• ”When working on a problem, I am strongly motivated and
attracted. We need to solve this problem.”
Xiangyun Du, 2005
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Problems
How ?
• The project groups choose their own problem
to work with in the projects
• The problem has to be analyzed within a
relevant context before it can be solved or
analyzed further
• The problem determines the choice of
methods and theories to be used
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PBL as educational model - practice at AAU students’
experiences
Literature
Lectures
Library
Supervision
Internet
Experiments
Other
teaching
staff
Problem solving in grouporganized project work
Family,
friends
Compani
es
Other
groups
experts
More
Students resources?
from other
programs
Multiple learning resources
Drawing upon multiple learning resources, students take active role
creating learning opportunities and managing their own learning
35th International IGIP Symposium, 2006, Tallinn, Estonia
PBL as educational model - practice at AAU
students’ reflection
We feel easier
to learn the technical skills
through group work
We learn best when the
knowledge can be related to
the assignment and our
project
We are engineers, our
tasks are to solve
problems (Male EE)
We develop social skills in group
work, this improves the learning
process
We develop ourselves
and get mature along
Project work help me get
the way
some ideas of what I am
going to learn…
I understand things better
through explaining,
discussing and practicing
Students’
perceptions
I am confident in
different tasks now
after these
experiences…
We get mental support from
each other, it involves lots of
I am strongly motivated responsibility so that we don’t
when working on
easily drop out (Female A&D)
problems
We want to make it possible
that we can learn from each
other and everybody can learn
what they want to learn
This makes our study
serious… like real work
place (Male EE)
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