Problem based Learning

okay class so that is how we set up a proportion and solve for X are there any questions okay let's move on then the next section we're going to do today covers word problems involved what do you think went wrong here does this seem like an engaging lesson are the students actively participating you would think that these being adult learners they would be interested in what they are being taught as educators we know the importance of what we are teaching but the students may not necessarily be aware of this it's up to you to teach them how to do something and why to do something so how do we do this how do we motivate adult learners to realize that what we teach them will be useful to them how do we inspire them to think as a box and solve problems creatively how do we as educators find a way to show students that what they are learning has value and meaning can be applied to the real world can be engaging to learn we can do this using a method called problem-based learning or PBL what is this you may ask according to Stanford University problem-based learning is a teaching strategy where students work with classmates to solve complex and authentic problems that help develop content knowledge as well as problem-solving reasoning communication and self-assessment skills with this technique students learn that the skills they're learning are necessary for their fields of study and later in life which helps boost their interest in what they are being taught overall this is a technique where students learn by doing they will be able to solve complex and open-ended problems that have meaning to them which makes the class more engaging than a typical college lecture according to Professor David Kwan learning must be relevant to learners objectives in order to be effective and efficient so it's important for the problem or activity to be relatable in order for learning to occur at all it should be active integrated and a constructive process which is influenced by both contextual and social factors PBL goes hand-in-hand with experiential learning which the Association for experiential education defines as a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with students in direct experience and focus reflection in order to increase knowledge develop skills and clarify values through experiential learning students learn through problem-solving and critical thinking instead of recalled memorization much like problem-based learning now do you know what the best part of PBL is it can be implemented in almost any subject especially at the college level this technique is most often used in the medical field where students learn through dealing with scenarios however this technique is also used in education business psychology dentistry engineering law music architecture and the list just keeps going ok so that sounds pretty good right now how do we implement it PBL can be used at three different levels curriculum level group level and individual student level in the curriculum level all problems and objectives are identical for all students at the group level each group can have either the same problem and different objectives or vice-versa lastly at the individual student level the instructor can predetermine objectives for each individual student now let's get into setting up here are some key elements and features of PBL you'll want to make sure to provide students with the same amount of information this allows you to make sure everyone has the same foundation and that everyone has an equal opportunity to solve the problem then decide on a problem for students to solve the problem you create should have multiple solutions or solution paths meaning there is no right or wrong answer or right or wrong way of finding the answer the more broad in general the problem the better be open-ended and difficult enough to have students collaborate with one another and think deeply if the question is too simple students will not be motivated to solve it if the question is too difficult some students will in a sense give up and only part of the class will experience the learning process encourage deep learning have students use what they already know and build off of that don't just recall information contain content that is real and applicable to the real world generate both interest and controversy which causes the students to ask each other questions and to discuss lastly you'll want to create learning objectives help your students by creating a list of tasks to complete this step is especially helpful with complex scenarios because students can delegate and take on various roles and have individual tasks to complete as students work collaboratively with their groups one of the aims of problem-based learning is that they go through a process called self-directed learning which occurs when students take their own initiative and feel as though they are the ones in charge of their own learning this helps students become self-sufficient and helps prepare them for lifelong learning studies show students who become self-directed learners are independent willing to take initiative persistent in learning self disciplined self-confident organized in terms of time and work able to develop a completion plan goal-oriented and self-motivated to learn as much as they can in addition to becoming self-directed learners students should also be identifying their own learning needs leading classroom discussions and assessing work done by other students and themselves to be successful students need to keep in mind what they already know in order to solve these problems if this were a traditional classroom the teacher would be the center of instruction in guidance however in problem-based learning students are the center and the role of the teacher changes to a facilitator tutor or cognitive coach it is the teachers role to guide exploration provide feedback and create a classroom environment that will encourage collaboration most importantly the teacher must encourage students to think for themselves and to become self-directed learners and mistakes are bound to happen and that's okay these are learning opportunities mistakes don't represent a lack of ability and students should be encouraged to learn from their mistakes so does problem-based learning actually work research shows that students first and foremost learn to work in a group group work helps students create learning communities which help them feel comfortable with creating new ideas and raising questions improves communication and interpersonal skills stimulates task involvement help students manage group dynamics and motivate students because they are all a part of the solution and each is accountable for his role research also shows that PBL enhances long-term memory due to group work making learning that much more prominent in addition to benefiting from group work students also improve their problem-solving skills instead of recalling information and facts they learn to build connections between these facts and are able to apply them to multiple scenarios when students are a part of problem-based learning they report being enthusiastic about the work and enjoy working with other students because of the controversial discussions that arise they also report understanding the subject better after being able to integrate it as well as having higher self-esteem and self-confidence Benjamin Franklin once said tell me and I forget teach me and I remember involve me and I will learn now let's get back to our classroom and see what should have been done okay class now I want you to pretend you're all getting ready for a class party and you have to prepare enough treats for everyone in the class based on the recipes I gave you I want you to break up into groups of three and you're going to use what we've learned up to this point to figure out how much of each ingredient you'll need for the proper amounts of servings I'll be handing out detailed instructions as well as a different now the students will get to experience four and how what they learned can be applied to a simple task such as cooking and baking so what are you waiting for try it out for yourself there is nothing to lose but so much to gain

Channel: Paulina Naslonski

Views: 50,692

Rating: 4.8582277 out of 5

Keywords: education, problem-based learning, PBL, adult learners, teaching strategies, teaching techniques, instructional video

Id: bUCbCoDpwD0

Length: 9min 58sec (598 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 23 2016