Problem-Based Learning
n
Learning that is situated around an event,
case, problem, or scenario.
Five Strategies for Using PBL
1.
The Problem as a Guide: the problem is presented in order to gain attention prior
to presenting the lesson.
2.
The Problem as an
Integrator or Test: the problem is presented after readings are
completed and/or discussed -- these are used to check for understanding.
3.
The Problem as an Example: the problem is integrated into the material in order to
illustrate a particular principle, concept or procedure.
4.
The Problem as a Vehicle
for Process: the problem is used to promote critical
thinking whereby the analysis of how to solve it becomes a lesson in itself.
5.
The Problem as a Stimulus
for Authentic Activity: the problem is used to
develop skills necessary to solve it and other problems -- skills can include
physical skills, recall of prior knowledge, and metacognitive skills related to
the problem solving process. A form of authentic assessment of the skills and
activity necessary in the content domain.
Design PBL Instruction:
- Task
Analysis: analysis must take place not only within the content
domain but should also determine the actual setting where the learning
will be authentic.
- Problem
Generation: The problems must be constructed so they include the
concepts and principles that are relevant and they must be set in a real
context.
Learning Sequence:
- Collaborative
Analysis session where groups work together to solve the problem.
- Self-directed
Learning where the students identify the information and resources that
are necessary to solve the problem.
n
The instructor in PBL only acts as a
facilitator to learning, instead of a transmitter of the necessary information.
n
Assessment: assessment of learning must occur within the context of
the problems and should be in the form of both self assessment and peer
assessment.
Cognitive
apprenticeships are situated within the social constructivist paradigm. They
suggest students work in teams on projects or problems with close scaffolding
of the instructor. Cognitive apprenticeships are representative of Vygotskian
"zones of proximal development" in which student tasks are slightly
more difficult than students can manage independently, requiring the aid of
their peers and instructor to succeed.
Scaffolding
•
Scaffolding refers to the role played by parents, teachers and others by which
children acquire their knowledge and skills (Wood et al, 1976).
•
As a task becomes more familiar to the child and more within its
competence, so those who provide the scaffold leave more and more for the child
to do until it can perform the task successfully.
•
In this way, the developing thinker does not have to create cognition
‘from scratch’: there are others available who have already ‘served’ their
apprenticeship.
Zone
of Proximal Development
The theory of the "Zone
of Proximal Development" (ZPD) is a term coined by Vygotsky to refer
to the:
‘level of potential development as determined through
problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more
capable peers…..What children can do with the assistance of others might be
in some sense even more indicative of their mental development than what they
can do alone’ (Vygotsky, 1978).
•
"Proximal" simply means "next". He observed that
when children were tested on tasks on their own, they rarely did as well as
when they were working in collaboration with an adult. It was by no means
always the case that the adult was teaching them how to perform the task, but
that the process of engagement with the adult enabled them to refine their
thinking or their performance to make it more effective. Hence, for him, the
development of language and articulation of ideas was central to learning and
development. The common-sense idea which fits most closely with this
model is that of "stretching" learners.
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