Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical concept of "active learning" in tertiary education, but is currently being adapted for use in K-12 education. It was pioneered and used extensively at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Active learning, as the name suggests, is a process whereby learners are actively engaged in the learning process, rather than passively absorbing lectures. ... Students attend a lecture at a tertiary institution. ... K-12 (Pronounced Kay through twelve or just Kay twelve) is the North American designation for primary and secondary education. ... McMaster University is a medium-sized research-intensive university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with an enrollment of 18,238 full-time and 3,836 part-time students (as of 2006). ...

The defining characteristics of PBL are:

• Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems.
• Students work in small collaborative groups.
• Teachers take on the role as "facilitators" of learning.

Accordingly, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. Advocates of PBL claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge and foster the development of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skill.

How PBL is done

PBL is typically done in small discussion groups of students accompanied by a faculty tutor or facilitator. A realistic problem is presented that often has incomplete information. In some implementations of PBL, students must engage in inquiry to get information about the problem; in others, the information is presented sequentially. The students discuss the problems, define what they know, generate hypotheses, derive learning goals and organize further work (such as literature and database research). Results are presented and discussed in the following session. The students then apply the results of their self-directed learning to solve the problem. A PBL cycle concludes with reflections on learning, problem solving, and collaboration. A structured whiteboard is used to help the learners keep track of their problem solving and learning.

Although some predefined aspects of the problem are usually expected to be investigated, not all learning goals are strictly defined in advance. Problems should be ill-structured and should ideally be open to differing approaches and offer thematic sidelines.

The teacher's role, as facilitator, is to guide the learning process rather than provide knowledge (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2006). They facilitate the learning process by asking open-ended questions, largely metacognitive. Feedback and reflection on the learning process and group dynamics are essential components of PBL.

Background

The acquisition and structuring of knowledge in PBL is thought to work through the following cognitive effects (Schmidt, 1993): Look up Cognition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• initial analysis of the problem and activation of prior knowledge through small-group discussion
• elaboration on prior knowledge and active processing of new information
• restructuring of knowledge, construction of a semantic network
• social knowledge construction
• learning in context
• stimulation of curiosity related to presentation of a relevant problem

References

• Armstrong E: A hybrid model of problem-based learning. In: Boud D and Feletti G (editors): The challenge of problem-based learning, 137-149. London, Kogan Page, 1991
• Barr RD and Tagg J: From teaching to learning - a new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, Nov/Dec.1995:13-25 (also available online at http://critical.tamucc.edu/~blalock/readings/tch2learn.htm )
• Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16, 235-266.
• Hmelo-Silver, C. E. & Barrows, H. S. (2006). Goals and strategies of a problem-based learning facilitator. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1. 21-39.
• Schmidt HG: Foundations of problem-based learning: some explanatory notes. Medical Education 27:422-432, 1993

External links

• An introduction to PBL, resources, criticism, links
• What is PBL? - Introduction and references
• PBL materials collection
• PBL Directory
• [1]

See also

• project-based learning
• Educational psychology