Since its inception at Canada's McMaster University Medical School in 1969, Problem-Based Learning has become an integral part of the curriculum across a wide variety of disciplines in schools around the globe. Barrows (1969) explained Problem-Based Learning as, "The learning that results from the process of working toward the understanding or resolution of a problem. " In a course that is taught in such a format, the teacher provides a group of students with a problem of short (one class period), medium (presentation in a week or two), or longer range (semester or even in a contest approach as occurs with physics students).
The group has a leader or facilitator (the instructor) who shares information, tailors the project's scope and constraints, poses Socratic questions for discussion, and using a Vygotskian approach, interacts with the various groups to provide support and instructional input as needed. Since the problem does not contain decontextualized content- say, from a book for example that must be read and studied, the responses arrived at are open-ended, yet within the realm of logic that would be applied by on the job practitioners.
To illustrate, here is an example of an issue that might be faced by teachers of Physical Education in a school district:
The Newly Proposed School District Policy on Elimination Games.
Last night's school board meeting ended with the members arguing with one another about whether they should adopt a new policy for all Physical Education classes, but they were unable to reach consensus. The matter was tabled till the next meeting based on a recommendation by the Superintendent that the district's 27 Physical Education Teachers should have an opportunity to offer their opinion on the matter. Here is the proposed wording of the new district policy:
"Effective immediately, the school district will no longer permit any type of exclusionary/ elimination/dodgeball/or bombardment type of game in Physical Education classes. A school must have a safe, calm, nurturing, and scholarly environment. Being hit by balls, excluded, eliminated, and losing in general is not consistent with the kind of environment the district wishes to create for its students."
The next day, the following memo is in the mailboxes of all Physical Education teachers:
To: All District PE Teachers
From: J. Wilson Zettlemoyer, Superintendent of Schools
Re: Proposed District Policy for Physical Education
Kindly check the choice that reflects your position on the new policy (see attached), add any appropriate comments as necessary, let me know if you have an interest in speaking to the board on this matter, and return the form to my office via intra-district mail by 9AM Friday of this week.
1.____ I support the new policy completely. There is no place for that kind of activity in school. Kids need some shelter from the so-called "real world"- they'll be out there competing in it soon enough.
2.____ I would support a modified program which would allow some activities to have students be eliminated- for example, a game as simple as "Simon Says" and other such simple games are not, in my opinion, harmful to young people, and may be helpful to their emerging perception of reality. Also this would place the responsibility to arrive at the correct balance with the teacher rather than on a policy book.
3.____ I oppose this new policy because the "real world" has winners and losers and we have a duty to prepare young people for the realities of the world. Learning to accept loss and rejection is a good thing as long as it is not excessive.
COMMENTS (use other side) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____Yes, I would like to be a part of a committee to make a presentation to the school board on this issue.
INSTRUCTIONS
THERE ARE 3 PRESENTATIONS THAT WILL BE MADE, ONE IN SUPPORT OF EACH OF THE 3 CHOICES.
Your group has agreed to make a 15 minute presentation at next month's public meeting. It is a controversial topic. The board meeting and last night's rather heated discussion has already made the front page of the newspaper.
Your group must complete a KWL Assessment and a Force-Field Analysis as part of your process and a Power Point Presentation in support of your philosophical position.
Clearly, the learning comes with context. Many advocates of Problem-Based Learning argue that learning free from context is deficient. Knowing, then, becomes inseparable from doing, rather than as a by- product of the more traditional learning by storage and retrieval- in other words, read the chapter, take copious notes, take the tests and quizzes, do the term paper, take the final, get your grade and move on...remember that style of learning? How many of us in education have often wished that our learning could have been more "real", "relevant", and tied to the context of the day- to- day world of public education. Problem- Based Learning can be an amazing change from the "Ben Stein" character behind his podium lecturing to the masses!
Dr. Dan Chandler is a Professor of Pedagogy at The College of New Jersey. He has taught at all levels from the elementary classroom, to the high school gymnasium, to graduate education. He was a High School and Middle School principal for 18 years. He argues for the end of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Multiple Choice, Machine scored assessment in the preparation of aspiring educators.
The group has a leader or facilitator (the instructor) who shares information, tailors the project's scope and constraints, poses Socratic questions for discussion, and using a Vygotskian approach, interacts with the various groups to provide support and instructional input as needed. Since the problem does not contain decontextualized content- say, from a book for example that must be read and studied, the responses arrived at are open-ended, yet within the realm of logic that would be applied by on the job practitioners.
To illustrate, here is an example of an issue that might be faced by teachers of Physical Education in a school district:
The Newly Proposed School District Policy on Elimination Games.
Last night's school board meeting ended with the members arguing with one another about whether they should adopt a new policy for all Physical Education classes, but they were unable to reach consensus. The matter was tabled till the next meeting based on a recommendation by the Superintendent that the district's 27 Physical Education Teachers should have an opportunity to offer their opinion on the matter. Here is the proposed wording of the new district policy:
"Effective immediately, the school district will no longer permit any type of exclusionary/ elimination/dodgeball/or bombardment type of game in Physical Education classes. A school must have a safe, calm, nurturing, and scholarly environment. Being hit by balls, excluded, eliminated, and losing in general is not consistent with the kind of environment the district wishes to create for its students."
The next day, the following memo is in the mailboxes of all Physical Education teachers:
To: All District PE Teachers
From: J. Wilson Zettlemoyer, Superintendent of Schools
Re: Proposed District Policy for Physical Education
Kindly check the choice that reflects your position on the new policy (see attached), add any appropriate comments as necessary, let me know if you have an interest in speaking to the board on this matter, and return the form to my office via intra-district mail by 9AM Friday of this week.
1.____ I support the new policy completely. There is no place for that kind of activity in school. Kids need some shelter from the so-called "real world"- they'll be out there competing in it soon enough.
2.____ I would support a modified program which would allow some activities to have students be eliminated- for example, a game as simple as "Simon Says" and other such simple games are not, in my opinion, harmful to young people, and may be helpful to their emerging perception of reality. Also this would place the responsibility to arrive at the correct balance with the teacher rather than on a policy book.
3.____ I oppose this new policy because the "real world" has winners and losers and we have a duty to prepare young people for the realities of the world. Learning to accept loss and rejection is a good thing as long as it is not excessive.
COMMENTS (use other side) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____Yes, I would like to be a part of a committee to make a presentation to the school board on this issue.
INSTRUCTIONS
THERE ARE 3 PRESENTATIONS THAT WILL BE MADE, ONE IN SUPPORT OF EACH OF THE 3 CHOICES.
Your group has agreed to make a 15 minute presentation at next month's public meeting. It is a controversial topic. The board meeting and last night's rather heated discussion has already made the front page of the newspaper.
Your group must complete a KWL Assessment and a Force-Field Analysis as part of your process and a Power Point Presentation in support of your philosophical position.
Clearly, the learning comes with context. Many advocates of Problem-Based Learning argue that learning free from context is deficient. Knowing, then, becomes inseparable from doing, rather than as a by- product of the more traditional learning by storage and retrieval- in other words, read the chapter, take copious notes, take the tests and quizzes, do the term paper, take the final, get your grade and move on...remember that style of learning? How many of us in education have often wished that our learning could have been more "real", "relevant", and tied to the context of the day- to- day world of public education. Problem- Based Learning can be an amazing change from the "Ben Stein" character behind his podium lecturing to the masses!
Dr. Dan Chandler is a Professor of Pedagogy at The College of New Jersey. He has taught at all levels from the elementary classroom, to the high school gymnasium, to graduate education. He was a High School and Middle School principal for 18 years. He argues for the end of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Multiple Choice, Machine scored assessment in the preparation of aspiring educators.
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