Problem-Based Learning (PBL) (Barrows, 1985) has been suggested as an authentic learning activity that can be used in elementary, secondary, and college classrooms to replace current methodologies (West, 1992). As a form of authentic learning, some have traced PBL to John Dewey. PBL has been most widely employed in medical schools (Vernon & Blake, 1993, Bridges & Hallinger, 1991). Its use in K-12 education is limited and its use in universities has been largely confined to specific professional schools.Traditional classroom instruction is often criticized as passive, decontextualized, and piecemeal. PBL has been used to improve medical education and, because of its field and its use in prestigious institutions, it gets good reviews. In addition to medicine, PBL has been used in pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, and it seems to be very popular in European institutions of higher education. PBL is considered to be learning in context (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989). Rather than lectures, notes, and examinations, medical students are presented with a sequence of simulated clinical cases and required to respond as if they were treating patients.
The curriculum of PBL requires the design of ill-structured problems based on "desired curriculum outcomes, learner characteristics, and compelling, problematic situations from the real world. Teachers develop a sketch or template of teaching and learning events in anticipation of students' learning needs. Teachers investigate the range of resources essential to the problem and arrange for their availability" (Center for Problem-Based Learning, 1998). Cognitive coaching is a critical component. While students actively define problems and construct potential solutions, a teacher (model, coach) avoids directing the group but assists them in defining their problems and organizing to solve them.
A feature of the PBL methodology in medicine is use of a team of 5 or 6 medical students, headed by a faculty member. In the first stage a clinical problem is presented to the group for consideration.
The appeal of this approach for K-12 applications is obvious, although it has not been fully investigated in such applications. Research has supported the effectiveness of the approach in medical schools. While students may engage in cooperative learning and team activities of various sorts, these experience are likely to differ significantly from the PBL method. As applied in medical education, there are many resources and practical problems readily available as presented by patients who come to clinical hospitals, although there is considerable work entailed in developing case simulations. A limitation in the teaching hospital is the number of qualified physicians to serve as coaches or team leaders, and this is also a problem for schools. A classroom teacher may have difficulty developing simulations in content areas and also serving as the coach for 4 or 5 teams. There may be ways to have older students serve in this capacity, but coaching is much different than telling.After case presentation the coach and team generate a statement or understanding of the presenting problem. A team member records the ideas and hypotheses forged by the team and arranges them into columns on a board under the following categories: - Data (clinical findings)
- Ideas (hypotheses)
- Learning Issues (knowledge or information lacking among group members)
- Actions (planned evaluations of the patient)Team members organize to gather (learn) additional knowledge to understand the condition and needs of the patient, then engage in individual study. The team reconvenes to use their new information and knowledge to re-address the problem. This process of analyzing the problem, identifying new issues for study, independently investigating these issues and applying the acquired knowledge is repeated until all members of the team feel that the problem has been satisfactorily explored and understood. At this stage, the Abstraction stage, the team compares and contrasts the case with other cases the team has handled. Finally, the group engages in the Reflection stage, reflecting on the entire process and disposition of the case, making explicit the knowledge and skills necessary for clinical reasoning. Another problem, and one that exists in all forms of evaluation, is determining accurately the conceptualizations of each student. In the medical PBL there are copious notes and comprehensive records maintained by the group. This could be a weakness in a K-12 application. Also students may need resources not ordinarily available in a classroom for gathering new information, although Internet resources may help overcome this obstacle.
According to Gallagher, the student must either solve a problem or make a decision, sometimes referred to as a
focussing question or an "Essential Question" because it centers the inquiry on the essence of an issue
or topic. Gallagher lists the following attributes of a good essential question:
- the student is in the role of an investigator
- it requires the generation (by the student) of subsidiary questions
- builds on, or drives the student to a solid knowledge base
- has the potential to generate a variety of reasonable answers rather than closing in on a single "right answer," or any indisputable answer
- is intriguing and socially relevant to the student
- designed around solving a problem or making a decision
- tends to become interdisciplinary when thoroughly pursued
- drives students to the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy
K-12 Applications
The use of PBL in education has been very limited. The most notable efforts at the K-12 level are theIllinois Mathematics and Science Academy and a consortium of educators in the delta region of Arkansas, which uses the Internet and e-mail for collaborative work.Savoie and Hughes (1994) have reported on a PBL approach in a Canadian high school social studies class, although the class was more concerned with self-directed study than with simulated problems. At the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, seniors investigated dilemmas resulting from modern advances in science and technology; and sophomores study the critical decisions which drove American development (Stepien et al., 1993). The Center for Problem-Based Learning at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy has also reported on "ill-structured problems" with teachers as coaches and tutors, probing findings, hypotheses, and conclusions; and sharing their thinking. Gallagher et al., (1992) reported on a problem-based course for gifted high school students, finding significant differences compared to a control group.
Multimedia Applications
It is conceivable that something like the PBL approach can be achieved with multimedia applications in many fields and at all levels of subject matter. The investment of resources will be considerable but the outcome may be highly effective. As technology becomes more powerful there is the possibility that PBL applications can be made for a variety of educational needs. One desirable feature would be the ability to enable the program to serve as both the "team" and the coach for an individual. In this way the multimedia application may be similar to a more enhanced form of tutorial instruction with expert guidance. With the profit motive being a major factor or some other bounty of resources to engage in such development, the most likely developments will occur in the military and in highly specialized fields. Perhaps as computer-based testing and instructional materials become more widespread, a new form of integrated learning system will become emerge.
Online Examples of Current PBL Activities
Yellowstone Fires is an online project provided by Wheeling Jesuit University as an example of PBL. It is quite different from the original models proposed by medical schools. In this problem a situation is described relating the
Yellowstone National Park fire in 1988. It is explained that several factors led to an abnormal fire season including . lack of rain in the spring, extremely high temperatures and winds making the park more vulnerable to fires than usual. An extensive series of fires resulted from lightning and human causes to consume many thousands of acres. As a result the National Park Service's created a policy on fuel management. After reading the content of this web site, the student is asked to help the Forest Service make a decision about what to do the next time there is a fire in Yellowstone National Park. Should they try to put it out or let it burn? A Protocol is provided giving information about both sides of the issue and a procedure is recommended: Step 1 -- List what is known, Step 2 -- List what is needed,
Step 3 -- Gather information to complete an analysis, and Step 4 -- Present your findings. Whether or not this actually conforms to the PBL approach can be debated, but such attempts may lead to more advanced applications in the future. As the technology becomes more sophisticated and equipped with accessible databases and intelligent agents, the computer system may act as a coach.For more information about developments in this fledgling area, these are links to online sources:
University of Delaware
Southern Illinois
University of Newcastle
American Educational Research Association
ASCD's PBL NET
Arkansas AdVentures in Networking (AAN)References Bridges, E. M., & Hallinger, P. (1991, September). Problem-based learning in medical and managerial education. Paper presented for the Cognition and School Leadership Conference of the National Center for Educational Leadership and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Nashville, TN.
Center for Problem-Based Learning. (1998). What is problem-based learning. [Online] http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/whatis/whatis/slide1.html
Collins, A., Brown, J.S., and Newman, S. Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing and mathematics. In L.B. Resnick (Ed.) Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Claser, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1989.
Gallagher, S.A. and others. (1992). The Effects of Problem-Based Learning on Problem Solving. Gifted Child Quarterly, v36 n4 p195-200 Fall 1992
Stepien, W.J and others. (1993). Problem-Based Learning: As Authentic as It Gets. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, v16 n4 p338-57 Sum 1993
Savoie, Joan M.; Hughes, Andrew S. (1994) Problem-Based Learning as Classroom Solution. Educational Leadership, v52 n3 p54-57 Nov 1994
Vernon, D. T., & Blake, R. L. (1993). Does problem-based learning work? A meta-analysis of evaluative research. Academic Medicine, 68(7) 550-563.
West, S.A. (1992). Problem-Based Learning--A Viable Addition for Secondary School Science. School Science Review, v73 n265 p47-55 Jun 1992