Problem-based learning: Much Game Potential?
Elizabeth A. Evans
Tomprof/). The most recent posting was on problem-based learning.
(Text is included below. There's a two-week delay in putting messages
up on the Web site, they say.) In reading the message, it seems to me
that games would be a great environment in which to design problem-
based learning. Not all game activity is problem-based by its nature,
but a lot of it is. I'd thought this before, but am reminded of it by
the posting to the list.
By the way, I believe posting this message to this group is OK, but if
anyone knows otherwise, please let me know.
-- Libby
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 09:33:11 -0800
From: Rick Reis <re...@stanford.edu>
To: tomorrows...@mailman.stanford.edu
Subject: TP Msg. #773 Why Problem-Based Learning?
Reminder: You can comment on this or any past posting by going to:
http://amps-tools.mit.edu/tomprofblog/
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"What worked in the classroom a decade (or two or three) ago, however,
will no longer suffice for the simple reason that past approaches fail
to develop the full battery of skills and abilities desired in a
contemporary college graduate."
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Folks:
The posting below takes a brief look at the key attributes of problem
based learning. It is from Chapter 1, Why Problem-Based Learning? A
Case Study of Institutional Change in Undergraduate Education by
Barbara J. Duch, Susan E. Groh, and Deborah E. Allen in the book, The
Power of Problem-Based Learning A Practical "How To" for Teaching
Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline, edited by Barbara J. Duch,
Susan E. Groh, and Deborah E. Allen.
Regards,
Rick reis
re...@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Without Followers, Leaders Are Just Out for a Walk
Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning
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Why Problem-Based Learning?
Why Change the Way We Teach?
What worked in the classroom a decade (or two or three) ago, however,
will no longer suffice for the simple reason that past approaches fail
to develop the full battery of skills and abilities desired in a
contemporary college graduate. In June of 1994, a Wingspread
Conference brought together state and federal policymakers, and
leaders from the corporate, philanthropic, higher education, and
accreditation communities to discuss quality in undergraduate
education. This conference was sponsored by the Education Commission
of the States (ECS), the Johnson Foundation, the National Governors'
Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. The
discussion that took place was based on the assertion that substantial
improvement in American undergraduate education is needed to prepare
students to function successfully in current business and industrial
environments. The Conference developed the following list of
important characteristics of quality performance of college and
university graduates (Wingspread, 1994):
* High-level skills in communication, computation, technological
literacy, and information retrieval to enable individuals to gain and
apply new knowledge and skills as needed
* The ability to arrive at informed judgments-that is, to effectively
define problems, gather and evaluate information related to those
problems, and develop solutions
* The ability to function in a global community through the possession
of a range of attitudes and dispositions including flexibility and
adaptability, ease with diversity, motivation and persistence (for
example, being a self-starter), ethical and civil behavior, creativity
and resourcefulness, and the ability to work with others, especially
in team settings
* Technical competence in a given field
* Demonstrated ability to deploy all of the previous characteristics
to address specific problems in complex, real-world settings, in which
the development of workable solutions is required
Survey results (Czujko, 1994) of all physics baccalaureates who were
employed in either the private sector or government/national labs
confirmed the Wingspread Conference conclusions. With approximately
80 percent response to the question, "What skills have you found to be
the most useful in your work?", problem-solving, interpersonal skills,
technical writing, and management skills were cited (greater than 60
percent) over physics knowledge. More recently, the Carnegie
Foundation's report, Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint
for America's Research Universities (1998) stated that "traditional
lectures and note-taking were created for a time when books were
scarce and costly and lecturing to large numbers of students was an
efficient means of transferring knowledge." Lecturing is still
efficient and has persisted as the traditional teaching method largely
because it is familiar, easy, and how we learned. It does little,
however, to foster the development of process skills to complement
content knowledge.
There are teaching practices, however, that do foster such skill
development without forsaking content. Quoting John Dewey's
observation that "true learning is based on discovery guided by
mentoring rather than the transmission of knowledge," (Boyer, 1998, p.
15) the Boyer report urged universities to ~Jfacilitate inquiry in
such contexts as the library, the laboratory, the computer, and the
studio, with the expectation that senior learners, that is,
professors, will be students' companions and guides~J. The research
university's ability to create such an integrated education will
produce a particular kind of individual, one equipped with a spirit of
inquiry and a zest for problem solving; one possessed of the skill in
communication that is the hallmark of clear thinking as well as
mastery of language; one informed by a rich and diverse experience.
It is that kind of individual that will provide the scientific,
technological, academic, political, and creative leadership for the
next century. (Boyer, 1998)
Student-centered, inquiry-based instruction, particularly problem-
based learning, falls right into line with this philosophy; indeed,
the Boyer Commission pointed to the PBL efforts at the University of
Delaware as one example of how to help students reach the important
goals highlighted in the report.
What is Problem-based learning?
We believe that problem-based learning (PBL) provides a forum in which
these essential skills will be developed. The basic principle
supporting the concept of PBL is older than formal education itself;
namely, learning is initiated by a posed problem, query, or puzzle
that the learner wants to solve (Boud & Feletti, 1991). In the
problem-based approach, complex, real-world problems are used to
motivate students to identify and research the concepts and principles
they need to know to work through those problems. Students work in
small learning teams, bringing together collective skills at
acquiring, communication, and integrating information. Problem-based
instruction addresses directly many of the recommended and desirable
outcomes of an undergraduate education: specifically, the ability to
do the following:
* Think critically and be able to analyze and solve complex, real-
world problems
* Find, evaluate, and use appropriate learning resources
* Work cooperatively in teams and small groups
* Demonstrate versatile and effective communication skills, both
verbal and written
* Use content knowledge and intellectual skills acquired at the
university to become continual learners
The PBL Cycle
PBL in the sciences traces its roots to the medical school setting
where small groups of intellectually mature, highly motivated medical
students work in small groups with a dedicated faculty tutor to learn
basic science concepts in the context of actual clinical cases. The
process of problem-based instruction (Boud & Feletti, 1997) follows:
* Students are presented with a problem (case, research paper,
videotape, for example). Students working in permanent groups
organize their ideas and previous knowledge related to the problem and
attempt to define the broad nature of the problem.
* Throughout discussion, students pose questions called "learning
issues" that delineate aspects of the problem that they do not
understand. These learning issues are recorded by the group and help
generate and focus discussion. Students are continually encourage to
define what they know and-more importantly-what they don't know.
* Students rank, in order of importance, the learning issues generated
in the session. They decide which questions will be followed up by
the whole group and which issues can be assigned to individuals, who
later teach the rest of the group. Students and instructor also
discuss what resources will be needed to research the learning issues
and where they could be found.
* When students reconvene, they explore the previous learning issues,
integrating their new knowledge into the context of the problem.
Students are also encouraged to summarize their knowledge and connect
new concepts to old ones. They continue to define new learning issues
as they progress through the problem. Students soon see that learning
is an ongoing process and that there will always be (even for the
teacher) learning issues to be explored.
PBL fosters the ability to identify the information needed for a
particular application, where and how to seek that information, how to
organize that information in a meaningful conceptual framework, and
how to communicate that information to others. Use of cooperative
working groups fosters the development of learning communities in all
classrooms, enhancing student achievement (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith,
1991). Students who learn concepts in the context in which they will
be used more likely to retain that knowledge and apply it
appropriately (Albanese & Mitchell, 1993). They will also recognize
that knowledge transcends artificial boundaries since problem-based
instruction highlights interconnections between disciplines and the
integration of concepts.
References
Albanese, M.A. & Mitchell, S. (1993). Problem-based learning: A
review of literature on its outcomes and implementation issues.
Academic Medicine, 68, 52-81.
Boud, D., & Feletti, G. (1997) The challenge of problem-based learning
(2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991). Cooperative
learning: Increasing college faculty instructional productivity.
(ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4). Washington, DC: George
Washington University.
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