Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Abstract

Problem-based learning (PBL) represented a major and widespread change in educational practice within higher education when introduced into McMaster University and Case Western Reserve Medical Schools during the 1960s (Barrows 2007). The teaching and learning strategy spread during the 1970s into medical schools in Newcastle (Australia), Maastricht (Netherlands), and NewMexico Universities. Since then problem-based learning has spread across the world and is currently practiced intermittently across the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, and Australia. From beginnings in medical schools, problem-based learning has been introduced into all of the health sciences, engineering, business, science, and education. Increasing uptake of problem-based learning (which differs from problem solving) occurred because it was considered a means to engage students in deep rather than surface learning and was viewed as a successful strategy to align university courses with the real-life professional work students were expected to undertake on graduation. Problem-based learning is considered “problem-first learning” because it is the problem which defines the learning. Instructors design problems to represent authentic, real-world situations or issues likely to be addressed in the work place on graduation. Typically, students in small groups work through the problem to decide on the information and skills they will need to investigate the issues identified and strive to resolve the situation. Often the problem involves collaboration between disciplines so that students are required to build on current knowledge to synthesize then integrate new information. Instructors monitor group processes and facilitate student learning. However, students themselves are responsible for the learning that occurs within the group. Generally standard problems developed in education programs are well constructed so that all elements of the problem are clear from the outset and there is a preferred process to arrive at the correct conclusion. In a shift from this format, problems crafted for problem-based learning are ill structured and vague, where students define the elements of the problem and there are often alternative pathways to alternative solutions. Throughout this student-centered and self-directed process, students collaborate to share their knowledge and reflect on their learning and assessment (Azer 2008). Contemporary examples of ill-constructed problems suitable for problem-based learning include those centered on policy (fixing a price on carbon emissions), engineering design (processing gas onshore or offshore), and ethical dilemmas (levels of support to refugees). On beginning a problem-based learning task, students work in small groups of four to eight, which may be self-selected or allocated by the facilitator. Students often underestimate the importance of negotiating group protocols so this is the initial priority before identifying the learning outcomes and sharing their prior knowledge. They are then able to determine gaps in their collective knowledge and plan strategies to obtain further information they perceive as required. Regular group