1

WHY PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING?

A CASE STUDY OF INSTITUTIONAL

CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

Barbara J. Duch, Susan E. Groh,

and Deborah E. Allen

Chapter Summary

The past decade has seen major changes in how we communicate, do business, access information, and use technology. How we teach must also change in order to prepare our students to cope with these new situations: students need more than ever to be able to pose questions, seek and find appropriate resources for answering these questions, and communicate their solutions effectively to others. Problem-based learning is one educational strategy that helps students build the reasoning and communication skills necessary for success today. This chapter describes the basic tenets of problem-based learning and outlines the development of a university-wide program of problem-based learning at one institution, the University of Delaware.

2

FACULTY MENTORING

FACULTY

THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSFORMING

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

George H. Watson and Susan E. Groh

Chapter Summary

An essential feature of educational reform on campus is commitment from the faculty. At the University of Delaware, instructors with an interest in making the transition to more student-centered, active forms of learning receive support from the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (ITUE), a faculty-driven program that combines instruction in pedagogy with personal mentoring by faculty who have already transformed their own teaching. This chapter describes the goals of ITUE, how it operates, and its role in promoting the adoption of problem-based learning on this and other campuses.

Summary

In 1993, the term “problem-based learning” was virtually unknown on the campus of the University of Delaware. Seven years later, it has become a byword, and the university has established an international reputation as the leader in the development of problem-based learning in undergraduate education. At the heart of this change in campus culture has been the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education. To date, over 25 percent of the UD faculty have participated either in PBL workshops or ITUE programs, and more than 150 courses have been or are targeted for transformation. ITUE’s efforts toward the improvement of undergraduate education through faculty development were recognized in 1999  through the Theodore M. Hesburgh Certificate of Excellence.

What began as a search on the part of a few faculty members for a better way to teach is changing the face of undergraduate education at UD and providing a viable model for other institutions to emulate. The initial proposal to use PBL in a handful of courses has led to the following:

•      A full-scale development program to train faculty in using PBL and other active learning strategies and technologies in their courses

•      A number of initiatives aimed at transforming individual courses and whole curricula into more active, student-centered and inquiry-driven formats

•      National recognition as a resource of information and insight for others interested in change

Perhaps the most important change, though, has been in attitude—in the renewed interest expressed throughout the university in the importance of undergraduate teaching aimed at meeting the real needs of our students, in ways that are invigorating and effective for both students and faculty.

We invite you to participate in an upcoming ITUE session!

3

MAKE IT SO

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

Chapter Summary

Experience and research evidence demonstrate that problem-based learning (PBL) greatly improves the teaching and learning environment. However, without appropriate support from key administrators, PBL cannot emerge as a viable instructional option. This chapter discusses ways administrators can help facilitate the successful introduction of problem-based learning on campus.

Summary and Conclusions

In summary, academic administrators have an important role to play in creating and sustaining curricular or pedagogical innovations such as PBL. Most important, they need to work with the faculty in developing the right balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches to innovation, to create appropriate incentive systems that recognize different needs among the faculty, to monitor the cost-benefit trade-off of an innovation and to define both costs and benefits in appropriate ways, to ensure that the necessary elements are in place to sustain the innovation, and to collect the appropriate data that provides measures of the innovation’s effectiveness.

The ideal situation is one in which senior academic administrators act as facilitators for the faculty during a curricular or pedagogical innovation. Administrative support is essential, but ideally it should be done in such a way that the focus remains on the faculty. In this way, a true partnership can be created that fosters and sustains each group. If that happens, then the stage is set for successful innovations that can transform the teaching-learning experience.

PART TWO

PLANNING FOR EFFECTIVE

PROBLEM-BASED

INSTRUCTION

Part Two deals with broad topics of general interest to faculty who are contemplating a change to problem-based instruction. These include discussions of different models for PBL classes, the process of writing problems, ways to use groups effectively, issues to consider in getting started in PBL, the utility of peer tutors, assessment strategies, and ways to incorporate technology in a PBL course.

  4

MODELS FOR PROBLEMBASED INSTRUCTION

IN UNDERGRADUATE

COURSES

Barbara J. Duch

Chapter Summary

Problem-based learning is a teaching technique used in many medical schools to facilitate learning basic science concepts in the context of clinical cases. This model is not generally applicable to many typical undergraduate courses for a variety of reasons, including class size. This chapter discusses several instructional models used in medium to large classes.

Conclusion

Incorporating PBL into typical undergraduate courses, particularly at research universities, is a challenge that is worth meeting in order to help undergraduate students develop the lifelong learning skills that will help them succeed in college and beyond. Many models for successfully using PBL in medium- to large-size classes have been discussed in this chapter, and more details of these models are discussed in Part Three of this book. Each faculty member intent on using problem-based instruction will make many decisions based on the size of their class, the intellectual maturity of their students, the type of course (survey course, introductory, majors’ upper level), and the availability of graduate or undergraduate peer tutors.

5

WRITING PROBLEMS FOR

DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

Barbara J. Duch

Chapter Summary

One of the keys to success in implementing problem-based learning in undergraduate courses is the type of problem you use. This chapter will discuss ways to find or write PBL problems if there are no sources of them in print.

Conclusion

Writing problem-based learning problems may be time consuming, challenging, and sometimes frustrating. However, the process of thinking through the learning priorities of a course and finding, adapting, or writing complex, realistic materials to meet those learning priorities will change how an instructor views his or her course in the future. Any magazine or newspaper article, documentary, news report, book or movie that is seen will become possible material for new problems for a course. Faculty will gain a new appreciation for the concepts and principles that they teach, and the connections that should be made to concepts in other courses and disciplines. It is always revealing to grapple with such questions as “How is the knowledge of this concept used in the world outside the classroom?” or “Why do my students need to know this?” or “How will my students use this knowledge in future courses?” I believe that writing PBL problems can help faculty develop into more reflective teachers.

6

STRATEGIES FOR

USING GROUPS

Deborah E. Allen, Barbara J. Duch, and Susan E. Groh

Chapter Summary

In problem-based learning, students are asked to work together to analyze and resolve problems, and to communicate, evaluate, and integrate information from diverse sources. Effective performance of these group learning tasks requires the development of new skills on the part of both the student and instructor. This chapter discusses strategies an instructor can use to maintain functional groups in the classroom—groups in which all members work effectively to enhance their own and each other’s learning.

Conclusions

For the many faculty members who did not experience group learning as students, undertaking an instructional shift from traditional lecture (with its emphasis on individual learning) to group-centered problem-based learning may be rather intimidating; the same will certainly be true for many students. It is important, therefore, to reassure both students and faculty that the benefits of cooperative learning are well documented (see Johnson, Johnson, & Smith,  1991 & 1998). By structuring a course with group ground rules, roles of responsibility, and individual accountability, the PBL practitioner can greatly curtail, if not eliminate entirely, the ability of “slackers” to benefit from the hard work of others in the group. Knowing that their individual efforts will be recognized and protected gives students the freedom to take full advantage of the power of groups in developing knowledge with and for one another.

7

GETTING STARTED IN

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

Harold B. White, III

Chapter Summary

The transition from traditional instruction to a problem-based approach to learning requires many changes and, without proper preparation, can frustrate the best intentions. Among the issues one needs to address are preparing a syllabus that reflects revised learning objectives, finding appropriate problems to address content, introducing students to group process and learning skills, and dealing with the uncertainty of a different classroom strategy.

Getting Started Ahead of Time

Mentoring

Getting started begins well before the semester begins. Sometimes the idea of transforming a course to one with a PBL format incubates for several years. The change in perspective requires getting used to. Finding others who have experience helps this transition, because few instructors have themselves been taught in a PBL classroom, and it is sometimes difficult to envision how a PBL class operates or to anticipate all the situations one might encounter. Instructors who use PBL have traveled the same path and appreciate the problem. In most cases, they welcome visitors to their classes. Those getting started should take advantage of such opportunities and find a mentor. An occasional coffee break or lunch with others using PBL can help deal with new situations. Most concerns relate to process; thus, colleagues from diverse disciplines can contribute constructively to each other’s effective teaching. The University of Delaware PBL website (see electronic resources for PBL at the end of the list of references for this chapter), and related PBL listserver also provide information and a forum for discussion.

Decisions

While circumstances may limit choices, some ways of getting started are easier than others. Occasionally, one might start by creating an entirely new course with a PBL format, but more often, instructors will transform one of their existing lecture-based courses into one that uses PBL. Because existing courses are already built into the curriculum, they have an established content and clientele, and they constitute part of the regular workload. These factors legitimatize the effort. Most faculty choose to make the transition gradually by introducing a problem-based exercise every week or two at first. They also tend to start with smaller classes and courses within a major. Once comfortable with PBL, instructors often transform other courses they teach.

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

Once the decision to transform a course has been made, formulating a list of instructional goals focused on student learning helps subsequent decisions. Examples of such goals can be found elsewhere in this volume. Because PBL addresses behavioral issues in addition to content issues, the course goals probably will change the way a course is structured and conducted. For example, oral and written communication skills or the ability to find and use new resources often become explicit goals that may have been subordinated to content goals without a PBL format. The new priorities lead to new assignments and restructured schedules.

Finding Problems

With the exception of a few disciplines, notably medicine and business, good PBL problems usually do not appear in textbooks. As a consequence, an instructor needs to find problems, modify textbook problems, or write new problems that address the course content goals and learning objectives. The “learning issue matrix” (White, 1996b; White, Chapter 12 of this book) provides a strategy for selecting a set of problems that covers the course content. While having to write problems may be necessary and seem to be a significant barrier, most instructors find writing problems an enjoyable scholarly activity (White, 1995; Duch, Chapter 5 of this book). Furthermore, because of the need, there are outlets for publishing good problems. The PBL Clearinghouse and Case Studies in Science are two web-based opportunities, while educational journals, such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education ( see electronic resources for PBL at the end of the list of references for the URLs to these three sites) or the Journal of College Science Teaching will accept manuscripts describing PBL problems.

Getting Students Started with PBL

The First Week of Class

Despite all of the advanced preparation, a certain amount of apprehension and self-doubt accompanies the beginning of a first-time PBL class. What if something goes wrong? What if the students don’t like it? Imagine a classroom full of students who have spent their entire education in lectures and are seated nicely in rows facing the front of the room. This course will be unfamiliar to them or, if not unfamiliar, something they may have found unpleasant. Will they buy into PBL?

There are many approaches and, as noted earlier, sending an e-mail message to the whole class a week before the semester starts can ease both student and instructor apprehensions about PBL. It is important, however, not to call PBL an “experiment.” The students need to know what will be different and why, but they do not wish to be guinea pigs. The introduction could take the form of a lecture—but that may send the wrong message in a PBL course. A successful approach is to initiate group discussions that evolve into a wholeclass discussion about the students’ prior experiences with groups and why they liked or disliked those experiences. This demonstrates that discussion is expected and that student concerns are heard. In addition, an “ice breaker” exercise often shows in an experiential way what a lecture or discussion cannot. I have developed the following activity, Stand and Deliver, that provides a visceral appreciation of the importance of teacher-to-student, studentto-teacher, and student-to-student communication in learning.

Stand and Deliver

Much of what we do when we lecture is to describe things and create mental images with words. These words have discipline-specific meaning that students sometimes misinterpret or don’t understand. The following group activity deals with verbal communication of images. The rules of this “game” are simple.

1.     Teacher Selection. Within each group of four or five students, determine who has the birth date closest to today. That person will be the teacher for this activity.

2.     Lesson Plan. Assemble all of the teachers in the hall outside the classroom and show them a simple geometric figure that they will have to describe orally to their group of “students.” The figure should have about three simple components; for example, a square, a triangle, and a circle and of different sizes, in different positions, and overlapping in different ways so that the sizes, relationships, and orientations become important details to communicate.

3.     The Lecture. The teachers return to their groups for two minutes while they describe, as accurately as they can, what they saw. The teachers cannot use hand gestures, and the students cannot ask questions of the teacher or talk among themselves during the “lecture.” The students may take notes, but cannot draw pictures yet.

4.     Teacher Conference. After the lecture, the teachers leave the room and can discuss the experience among themselves until step 7.

5.     Individual Work. Without talking to each other, each student must draw, as closely as he or she can, a copy of the figure described by the teacher. The objective is to be as close to a carbon copy of the original drawing as possible. They have two minutes to do this.

6.     Group Work. The members within each group compare their drawings and discuss the differences in an attempt to come to consensus. In five minutes, each group should have a revised consensus drawing to show to their teacher.

7.     Teacher Assessment. The teachers return and see what their students have drawn. Groups then can discuss the exercise. At this time,

each group receives a photocopy of the original drawing to compare with their drawing.

8.     Reflection. Among the questions groups might consider in discussing the implications are: Did everyone in your group draw the same picture? Did subsequent discussion improve the representation? Was the teacher happy with the results? What were your frustrations, if any? Can you make any conclusions?

This activity generates a lot of discussion and raises important questions about how we communicate and the importance of feedback. It also addresses what it means to teach and to learn. Given additional time, groups can discuss how such an assignment might be graded. Clearly, there will be many things going on during the first week of classes, and this is just one idea for getting started.

Keeping Going with PBL

For anyone getting started with PBL, the learning curve is steep. It may seem a bit overwhelming to have to deal with issues of group dynamics, educational psychology, and student learning skills in addition to the subject matter. However, practitioners need not be experts and one need not implement everything at once. The change in perspective that accompanies the adoption of a few PBL exercises in one course usually leads to more and to the transformation of other courses. It also leads to a revitalized interest in education. Once started, it is easy to keep going.

8

UNDERGRADUATE GROUP

FACILITATORS TO MEET THE CHALLENGES

OF MULTIPLE

CLASSROOM GROUPS

Deborah E. Allen and Harold B. White, III

Chapter Summary

Problem-based learning (PBL), which emphasizes individual initiative and collaborative classroom groups, may pose novel challenges to students who first encounter it. Undergraduate peer group facilitators help to ease this passive-to-active transition anxiety, and improve the quality of the PBL and group experience. This chapter describes an interdisciplinary program (which includes a university-wide course in Tutorial Methods of Instruction) for preparing undergraduates to function well in this peer group facilitator role.

Conclusion

In addition to providing the means for using problem-based instruction at the introductory level (where it can have the greatest impact in subsequent learning), the PBL peer group facilitator program provides a natural progression for attracting good students to teaching careers. It allows them to gain an overview of their chosen major as a capstone experience prior to graduation. For students in introductory PBL courses, these upperclass guides assist with the often difficult transition between the academic expectations of the high school versus college experience, particularly as they relate to the novel challenges of PBL. For faculty teaching PBL courses, the facilitators serve as far more than a practical solution to managing multiple groups, becoming our apprentices and allies in creating a community of scholars in the PBL classroom.

9

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

IN A PROBLEM-BASED

LEARNING COURSE

Barbara J. Duch and Susan E. Groh

Chapter Summary

Moving to a student-centered, cooperative-learning format of instruction requires rethinking how to assess student learning in such an environment. This chapter discusses many of the decisions faculty make concerning assessment when adopting problem-based techniques.

Conclusions

When faculty members move from a traditional to a problem-based learning environment, many instructional decisions need to be made, including how to assess students’ learning in the course. If developing critical thinking skills, communication skills, research skills, and other lifelong learning skills are a priority for the instructor, then students should expect to be assessed on how well they are meeting those learning objectives in addition to the content objectives. Thinking about what to assess, as well as how to assess, can be a challenge to any PBL practitioner, since this exercise makes faculty grapple with what is important instructionally, and what is possible to accomplish in a limited amount of time. This reflection is essential in developing reasonable and fair assessments for students in problem-based classes.