Problem-Based Learning in Professional Education

Doris R. Brodeur Massachusetts Institute of Technology

dbrodeur@mit.edu

AAHE - April 2004

Professional Education

Architecture

Medicine and Health Care

LawEngineering

TeachingBusiness

Today’s Objectives

Apply knowledge of PBL to

your own professional programs

Share ideas and experiences of PBL with other participants

Outline

Key features of PBL Relevance to conference theme Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

PBL: Problem? Project? Performance?

Problem-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning

Performance-Based Learning

Student-centered and self-directed

The Water Bike Project at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm

Organized around real-world problems

The SPHERES Project at MIT

Focused on authentic skills

Collaborative

With faculty as facilitators

Workshop at Queen’s University, Belfast

Pair-and-Share

Your name, affiliation, and professional area

Experience with PBL (is it problem, project, or performance?)

Questions about PBL

Outline

Key features of PBL Relevance to conference theme Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

Democratic Transformations

Opportunities for students to organize their own learning

Increased access to multiple sources of information

Changing roles for faculty Collaboration across disciplines,

cultures, and countries

Outline

Relevance to conference theme Key features of PBL Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

Constructivism

What is learned is a function of the content, context, activity of the learner, and goals of the learner

Students build their own internal frameworks of knowledge upon which they “attach” new ideas

Cognitive conflict is the stimulus for learning

Metacognition

Knowing about knowing affects learning

Students are encouraged to think critically and monitor their understanding

Students reflect not only on what they know, but on how they know it

Social Negotiation

Social and cultural factors affect learning

Knowledge evolves through social negotiation and evaluation of the viability of individual understandings

Collaboration promotes PBL

Outline

Relevance to conference theme Key features of PBL Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

Pair-and-Share

Describe a sample problem in your area

List the key intended learning outcomes for this PBL experience

Describe the learning environment

Designing Problems (1)

Identify problems that raise the concepts and principles relevant to the content domain

Anchor all learning activities to a larger task or problem

Support the learner in developing ownership for the overall problem or task

Designing Problems (2)

Design an authentic task, i.e., one in which the thinking required is consistent with the thinking in the environment for which the learner is preparing

Design the learning environment to support and challenge the learner’s thinking

Design the task and environment to reflect the complexity of the environment in which learners will later function

Designing Problems (3)

Encourage testing ideas against alternative views and alternative contexts

Set realistic and assessable parameters Provide opportunities for reflection on both

the content learned and the learning process

Sequencing PBL Experiences

The learning sequence is not necessarily the same as the sequence of the process in the professional environment

Sequence for levels of complexity in problem structure, type of solution, number of people required, length of time

Level of Complexity #1

Structured problem Known solution Individual or group

solution Same problem for all

students Short time frame

Level of Complexity #2

Structured problem Known solution Team solution Same problem for all

teams Short time frame

Autonomous Robots at MIT

Level of Complexity #3

Complex problem Solution can be

known or unknown Team solution Different problem for

each team Several weeks or

monthsThird-Year Electronics Project at Linkoping University

Level of Complexity #4

Complex problem Unknown solution Team solution Single problem solved

by multiple sub-teams

More than one term long

ARGOS Project at MIT

Pair-and-Share

Discuss the levels of complexity and sequencing of PBL experiences in your professional programs

Outline

Relevance to conference theme Key features of PBL Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

Intended Learning Outcomes

Content knowledge Reasoning and problem solving Oral and written communication Teamwork and collaboration Project management Self-directed learning

Assessment Methods

Case Study Analysis

Observation with Rating Scale Self-

Assessment with Rating Scale

Journals and PortfoliosProduct

Review with Rating Scale

Oral Questions and Interviews

Intended Learning Outcomes

Matching Assessment With Outcomes

Oral Q's CaseStudy

Analysis

Observa-tion

Pr oductReview

Se lf-Assess/J ournals

Con tentK now ledgeRea soning/Pro blSolvingSk ills

Attitude s/Affect ive

Project Assessment

Product Review• Built to specification• Time

Team Collaboration Written

Documentation Reflective Journal

Formula Student Project at Chalmers Institute of Technology, Gothenberg

Project Assessment

Product Review• Built to specification• Course completion• Time• Number of trials

Team Collaboration Articulation of robot

logic

Summary

Key features of PBL Learning theories that underlie PBL Design of PBL experiences Assessment of PBL experiences

QUESTIONS?