Transcript Experience It Yourself: An Introduction to Problem-Based Learning George Watson [email protected] Hal White [email protected] Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education University of Delaware Workshop for Animal Science Education Consortium December 16-17, 2002

Experience It Yourself:
An Introduction to
Problem-Based Learning
George Watson
[email protected]
Hal White
[email protected]
Institute for Transforming
Undergraduate Education
University of Delaware
Workshop for Animal Science Education Consortium
December 16-17, 2002
The Way It Was...
2002
1973
graphing calculators,
laptops,
gigabytes and gigahertz
Computation
The Way It Was...
2002
1973
e-mail,
voice-mail,
chatrooms,
FAX,
pagers,
cell phones
instant messaging,
wireless connectivity
Communication
The Way It Was...
2002
1973
Online Information:
web catalogs,
networked databases,
Britannica Online,
online newspapers,
course websites,
CMS
Collections
Problem-Based Learning
and the Cs of Technology:
Computation and Calculation
Communication and Collaboration
Collections and Connections
Given the amazing advances in
technology
and the dramatic change in the firstyear experience,
Can we afford to continue teaching
the way we were taught?
What I know best I have taught…
…the individuals learning the most in [teachercentered classrooms] are the professors. They
have reserved for themselves the very conditions
that promote learning:
actively seeking new information,
integrating it with what is known,
organizing it in a meaningful way, and
having a chance to explain it to others.
Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses:
Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Knowledge is transmitted from professor to
student.
Learner-Centered
Students construct knowledge through gathering
and synthesizing information and integrating it
with the general skills of inquiry, communication,
critical thinking, and problem solving.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Students passively receive information.
Learner-Centered
Students are actively involved.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Emphasis is on acquisition of knowledge outside
the context in which it will be used.
Learner-Centered
Emphasis is on using and communicating
knowledge effectively to address enduring and
emerging issues and problems in real-life
contexts.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Instructor’s role is to be the primary information
giver.
Learner-Centered
Instructor’s role is to coach and facilitate.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Emphasis is on right answers.
Learner-Centered
Emphasis is on generating better questions and
learning from errors.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Focus is on a single discipline.
Learner-Centered
Approach is compatible with interdisciplinary
investigation.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Culture is competitive and individualistic.
Learner-Centered
Culture is cooperative, collaborative, and
supportive.
Comparison of Paradigms
Teacher-Centered
Only students are viewed as learners.
Learner-Centered
Instructors and students learn together.
Characteristics Needed
in College Graduates
High level of communication skills
Ability to define problems, gather and
evaluate information, develop solutions
Team skills -- ability to work with others
Ability to use all of the above to address
problems in a complex real-world setting
Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education (1994) Wingspread Conference,
ECS, Boulder, CO.
Recommendations from the
Carnegie Foundation
Make research-based learning the
standard.
Build inquiry-based learning throughout
the four years.
Link communication skills and course
work.
Use information technology effectively.
Cultivate a sense of community.
Boyer Commission Report
What is Problem-Based Learning?
PBL is an instructional method that
challenges students to “learn to learn,”
working cooperatively in groups
to seek solutions to real world problems.
PBL prepares students
to think critically and analytically, and
to find and use appropriate learning resources.
“The principal idea behind PBL is that
the starting point for learning should
be a problem, a query, or a puzzle
that the learner wishes to solve.”
Boud (1985)
What are the Common
Features of PBL?
Learning is initiated by a problem.
Problems are based on complex, real-world
situations.
All information needed to solve problem is not
initially given.
Students identify, find, and use appropriate
resources.
Students work in permanent groups.
PBL: The Process
Students are presented with a problem. They
organize ideas and previous knowledge.
Students pose questions, defining what they
know and do not know.
Assign responsibility for questions, discuss
resources.
Reconvene, explore newly learned
information, refine questions.
The Problem-Based Learning Cycle
Overview
(Assessment)
Problem, Project,
or Assignment
Mini-lecture
Group
Discussion
Whole Class
Discussion
Preparation of
Group “Product”
Research
Group Discussion
Outcomes?
Moving away from:
Are students getting the right answer?
Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses:
Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Can students demonstrate the qualities
that we value in educated persons, the
qualities we expect of college graduates?
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Can students gather and evaluate new
information, think critically, reason
effectively, and solve problems?
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Can [students] communicate clearly,
drawing upon evidence to provide a basis
for argumentation?
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Do [students’] decisions and judgments
reflect understanding of universal
truths[/concepts] in the humanities and
arts [etc.]?
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Can [students] work respectfully and
productively with others?
Outcomes?
Moving to:
Do [students] have self-regulating
qualities like persistence and time
management that will help them reach
long-term goals?
The principal idea behind PBL is?
A. PBL challenges students to learn to learn.
B. Learning is initiated by a problem.
C. Student-centered work in permanent groups.
“The principal idea behind PBL is that
the starting point for learning should
be a problem, a query, or a puzzle
that the learner wishes to solve.”
Boud (1985)
The principal idea behind PBL is?
A. PBL challenges students to learn to learn.
B. Learning is initiated by a problem.
C. Student-centered work in permanent groups.
Think/
pair/
share
Forming Groups
Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous
“Homogeneous”
Groups
Your Class
“Heterogeneous”
Groups
Courtesy of Hal White
What Aspects of Heterogeneity
are Important for You?
If you know you want to form
heterogeneous groups, but don’t know
critical information about your students,
what can you do?
Let the students help you.
Forming Heterogeneous Groups
Without Prior Information
•
•
•
•
If you are in Animal Nutrition, add 25
If you are in Animal Physiology, add 50
If you are in Agricultural Management, add 75
If you are in none of the above, add 100
25
-
• If you are Male, add 100
• If you are Female, add 200
100
-
• Sum the digits of your Social Security Number
• Sum the seven digits of your office Phone Number
• GRAND TOTAL (Your Number)
43
31
199
When you have calculated Your Number,
line up in numerical order.
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Chickens You Can’t Count on
Courtesy of Alberta Canada Poultry Conservation Program 'Rare Breed' Collection
www.agric.gov.ab.ca/images/livestock/aprc/rarebreed_scwl.jp
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 1 - Hens rescued from the pot.
•
If you were Prof. Maw, what could you conclude
from the information provided?
•
What questions would you have?
•
How would you figure out the problem with the
hens/eggs?
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 2 - What color is egg white?
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 2 - What color is egg white?
Predict what happened when Prof. Maw mated
the F1 siblings and incubated their eggs without
injecting FMN.
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 3 - Fluorescent “egg”citement
Fl
u
or
es
ce
nc
e
Mutant albumen
Normal albumen
Squirts of riboflavin solution
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 3 - Fluorescent “egg”citement
Fl
u
or
es
ce
nc
e
Mutant albumen
Normal albumen
Squirts of riboflavin solution
What are the
implications of
this experiment?
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 4 – Burning Chicken Fat
PBL: Experience It Yourself
Stage 4 – Burning Chicken Fat
How might riboflavin
deficiency lead to
embryonic death?
Compelling Features of PBL
for New Adapters
Models itself on how students learn.
With information overload, prepares students
to be life-long learners.
More realistic curriculum prepares students for
world outside the classroom.
Ensures more up-to-date materials, content.
Generates enthusiasm among faculty.
Boud and Feletti, 1998
Reflections and Questions