Abstract
PBL is often valorized but has not, hitherto, been examined in terms of the way in which power manifests through group dynamics and how this might influence learning. In this paper, Foucault’s theory of power, as in “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison”, is used as a conceptual framework for gaining a deeper understanding of PBL group work. According to Foucault, it is not a person who has a hold on power, but rather visibility that assures the hold of power. Specifically, this paper examines the PBL “gaze” and its hold on students. During PBL tutorials, the tutor (and peers) was able to closely observe and continuously judge the performance of students during both participation and non-participation. Tutors and peers alike were able to judge the functioning of the group at a glance. During PBL tutorials it was this surveillance which kept students under subjection. They may never have known when they were being watched and their performance monitored and, they therefore, held themselves in subjection, controlling their behavior, speech and interaction with one other. Students could have experienced this type of surveillance and self-surveillance as threatening and oppressive, and it could have constrained their learning. This article provides recommendations for PBL tutors regarding the cognizance of the manifestation of power when it comes to the management of group dynamics so that tutorials can be a positive place for all group members. Although this study looked at group dynamics within the context of PBL, the argument regarding tutorials not being power-free zones could be applicable to other forms of collaborative learning. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p443
Highlights
One of the major hallmarks of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is collaborative learning within small group settings (Van Berkel and Dolmans, 2006)
This article argues from the perspective of Foucault’s theories that the structured nature of group work in PBL promotes the manifestation of power, and dominance by some members to flourish, creating an oppressive, threatening space where members are under constant surveillance
It is well known that in the traditional roles of teacher and student, power is exerted in a more overt manner where the teacher is the authority and poses as the sole bearer of the knowledge to be transmitted to the student
Summary
One of the major hallmarks of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is collaborative learning within small group settings (Van Berkel and Dolmans, 2006). Just because group work in a PBL environment appears social and democratic, since students are selfdirecting, does not necessarily mean that they are in a power-free zone They warn of the danger of using self-assessment (for example) as an instrument to get students to sacrifice themselves to surveillance, subjecting themselves and becoming their own policemen These studies, do not focus on group work in PBL and as a result group dynamics as a manifestation of power has been neglected. A review of the literature shows that group work is not often examined in terms of the way in which power is manifested through group dynamics nor on how this might influence learning From this researcher’s experience with PBL, these processes have the potential to create opportunities for hierarchies of power to exist among group members.
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