Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Planning
- Delivery
- Activities
- 51 Action learning
- 52 Amplifying your teaching
- 53 Audio feedback
- 54 Bibliographies
- 55 Blogs
- 56 Brainstorming
- 57 Building blocks
- 58 Buzz groups
- 59 Card sorting
- 60 Case studies
- 61 Cephalonian method
- 62 Checklists
- 63 Design briefs
- 64 Discussions
- 65 Dividing the dots
- 66 Drawing the line
- 67 Fear cards
- 68 Future scenarios
- 69 Games
- 70 Goldfish bowl
- 71 Guided tours
- 72 Hands-on workshops
- 73 Ice-breakers
- 74 Interviewing
- 75 Jigsaws
- 76 Lectures
- 77 Mind maps
- 78 Multiple-choice questions
- 79 Peer assessment
- 80 Podcasts
- 81 Portfolios
- 82 Poster tours
- 83 Presentations by learners
- 84 Problem-based learning (PBL)
- 85 Pub quizzes
- 86 Questionnaires
- 87 Quizzes
- 88 Self-assessment
- 89 Self-guided tours
- 90 Social bookmarking
- 91 Stop, Start, Continue feedback
- 92 Storytelling
- 93 Technology-enhanced learning (TEL)
- 94 Treasure hunt
- 95 Video
- 96 Virtual learning environments (VLEs) (or learning management systems, LMSs)
- 97 Visiting lecturers/guest speakers
- 98 Voting systems
- 99 WebQuests
- 100 Wikis
- 101 Worksheets
- Index
84 - Problem-based learning (PBL)
from Activities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Planning
- Delivery
- Activities
- 51 Action learning
- 52 Amplifying your teaching
- 53 Audio feedback
- 54 Bibliographies
- 55 Blogs
- 56 Brainstorming
- 57 Building blocks
- 58 Buzz groups
- 59 Card sorting
- 60 Case studies
- 61 Cephalonian method
- 62 Checklists
- 63 Design briefs
- 64 Discussions
- 65 Dividing the dots
- 66 Drawing the line
- 67 Fear cards
- 68 Future scenarios
- 69 Games
- 70 Goldfish bowl
- 71 Guided tours
- 72 Hands-on workshops
- 73 Ice-breakers
- 74 Interviewing
- 75 Jigsaws
- 76 Lectures
- 77 Mind maps
- 78 Multiple-choice questions
- 79 Peer assessment
- 80 Podcasts
- 81 Portfolios
- 82 Poster tours
- 83 Presentations by learners
- 84 Problem-based learning (PBL)
- 85 Pub quizzes
- 86 Questionnaires
- 87 Quizzes
- 88 Self-assessment
- 89 Self-guided tours
- 90 Social bookmarking
- 91 Stop, Start, Continue feedback
- 92 Storytelling
- 93 Technology-enhanced learning (TEL)
- 94 Treasure hunt
- 95 Video
- 96 Virtual learning environments (VLEs) (or learning management systems, LMSs)
- 97 Visiting lecturers/guest speakers
- 98 Voting systems
- 99 WebQuests
- 100 Wikis
- 101 Worksheets
- Index
Summary
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred pedagogic approach in which learners work collaboratively to solve problems and reflect on their experiences. It was pioneered and used extensively at McMaster University in Canada. It has also been widely applied in the UK within medical education.
PBL draws on social-cultural and constructivist theories of learning. Instead of presenting learners with information and asking them to understand and memorize it, PBL means the learners find out for themselves. Learners often find this approach more interesting and interactive and there is evidence that it leads to deeper learning, allowing learners to construct their own understanding.
Key characteristics of PBL include:
• The teacher is a facilitator, rather than the focus of learning. His or her role is to help the learners devise effective questions and strategies to resolve the problem.
• The problems may be messy, real-life issues. The focus is on providing challenging and open-ended problems.
• There is a strong focus on collaborative working, with learners being encouraged to take responsibility for their group and for setting and meeting their learning outcomes.
Advocates of PBL argue that it is a more realistic and authentic approach to learning in real life, by virtue of being open-ended, collaborative and outcome-focused. Learners are encouraged to research, discuss and explore issues during the PBL process, using a variety of learning strategies and approaches.
If you are thinking about delivering a presentation or giving a handout – i.e. transmitting information to learners – think about how you can revise it so that the learners find this information out for themselves. What questions could you ask so that the learners can find out for themselves? Can these questions be incorporated into a scenario? For example, ask the learners to explore a database and then write a short user guide to it. This will almost certainly lead to a greater understanding of the resource than simply asking them to use it.
✓ BEST FOR
• making learning interactive, relevant and interesting
• group learning
• learning by doing.
+ MORE
• Enquiry-based learning (EBL, ‘inquiry’ or IBL in American English) is a related activity, which can be seen to encompass PBL but also a broader range of activities. EBL differs in that learners can define the problem themselves.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Guide to Teaching Information Literacy101 Practical Tips, pp. 217 - 219Publisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2011