1. Problem Based Learning
Nancy Allen, Ph.D.
College of Education
Office of Faculty Development
Qatar University

2. Session Objectives
Explain the theory and practice of Project Based Learning (PBL).
Engage faculty in considering PBL as an instructional strategy.
Discuss how to plan and conduct effective PBL .

3. Learning Outcomes
Give an operational definition of Problem Based Learning (PBL).
Describe how to construct a PBL experience.
Give examples of how PBL can be used in instruction.
Evaluate PBL designs.
Construct a PBL experience for a course you teach.

4. I have a problem.
I don’t know you.

5. Can you help me? First: Organize yourself into working groups.
Group Manager
Recorder
Reporter
Resource Manager

6. As a group…
First, clarify the question.

7. What is the problem?

8. What constitutes successful completion?
In one hour’s time, your group will present what you believe is an accurate and helpful profile of the participants in this workshop.
You will have a maximum of five (5) minutes to present.
Everyone in the group is expected to take part in the research and in the presentation.

9. As a group…
Decide what you know, what you need to know, and how you can find out.
Know
Need to Know
How we can find out
Who is responsible

10. What resources do you have? What resources do you need?

11. Knowledge and Skills

12. "The basic principle supporting the concept of PBL is older than formal education itself; namely, learning is initiated by a posed problem, query, or puzzle that the learner wants to solve" (Duch, Groh, & Allen, 2001).  
Duch, B; Groh, S.; & Allen, D. (2001). The power of problem-based learning: Sterling, VA: Stylus. Available online at

13. Once Kind of Active Learning
PBL overlaps with other active learning models such as groupwork and case studies, but is distinguished by the focus on having students delineate, research, and solve a realistic problem.

14. Why Use Problem-Based Learning
PBL better prepares students to apply their learning to real-world situations.
PBL enables students to become producers, rather than consumers, of knowledge.
PBL can help students develop communication, reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Research review

15. Review of research
Learning in a PBL format may initially reduce levels of learning (this may be due to the difficulty in determining what students learned using traditional competence measures), but may foster, over periods up to several years, increased retention of knowledge;
Some preliminary evidence suggests that PBL curricula may enhance both transfer of concepts to new problems and integration of basic science concepts into clinical problems;
PBL enhances intrinsic interest in the subject matter; and
PBL appears to enhance self-directed learning skills (metacognition), and this enhancement may be maintained (Norman & Schmidt, 1992, in Evensen & Hmelo, 2000).

16. Goals of PBL:
PBL is used to engage students in learning. This is based on several theories in cognitive theory. Two prominent ones are that students work on problems perceived as meaningful or relevant and that people try to fill in the gaps when presented with a situation they do not readily understand.

17. Teachers present students with a problem set, then student work-groups analyze the problem, research, discuss, analyze, and produce tentative explanations, solutions, or recommendations. It is essential to PBL that students do not possess sufficient prior knowledge to address the problem. In the initial discussion, students develop a set of questions that need to be addressed. These questions then become the objectives for students' learning.

18. Norman and Schmidt (1992) state there are three roles for PBL.
The first is the acquisition of factual knowledge, the second is the mastery of general principles or concepts that can be transferred to solve similar problems, and third, the acquisition of prior examples that can be used in future problem solving situations of a similar nature.

19. Acquiring Factual Knowledge:
Activation of prior knowledge facilitates the subsequent processing of new information. Small group discussion helps activate prior knowledge.

20. Elaboration of knowledge at the time of learning enhances subsequent retrieval. Matching context facilitates recall. This means that retrieval of information is facilitated by retrieving under the same conditions in which the information was learned.

21. Transfer of Principles and Concepts
To insure successful transfer, students need to get the problem cold. Any advance organizer that identifies the problem in advance appears to detract from the PBL process. It appears important that students learn and acquire concepts while wrestling with the problem.

22. Activation of prior knowledge, taking place while a problem is initially discussed, may have a stage-setting function for new knowledge that facilitates students processing it.

23. How does problem-based learning work?

24. What instructors do:
Develop real-world, complex and open-ended problems such as might be faced in the workplace or daily life.
Act as facilitators, making sure students are staying on track and finding the resources they need.
Raise questions to student groups that deepen the connections they make among concepts.
Strike a balance between providing direct guidance and encouraging self-directed learning.

25. What students do:
Address the problem, identifying what they need to learn in order to develop a solution and where to look for appropriate learning resources.
Collaborate to gather resources, share and synthesize their findings, and pose questions to guide further learning tasks for the group.
Generate and defend plans or solutions based on their research.

26. How do I get started with PBL?

27. Develop problems that:
Capture students’ interest by relating to real-world issues.
Draw on students’ previous learning and experience.
Integrate content objectives with problem-solving skills.
Require a cooperative, multi-staged method to solve.
Necessitate that students do some independent research to gather all information relevant to the problem.

28. Examples of Problems
Biology: Students examine the health claims of a widely advertised dietary supplement
Art History: Students weigh competing evidence to determine whether a museum acquisition is real or forged
Environmental Science: Students develop a preservation plan for a local forest
Center for Instructional Development and Research (2004). Retrieved on January 22, 2008, from

29. Design assessment tools that:
Account for process (e.g. research, collaboration) as well as content skills.
Are closely tied to course learning objectives.
Balance group performance.

30. What kinds of classes can PBL be used in?
PBL has successfully been used in disciplines ranging from engineering to art history.

31. When adapting PBL for your course, consider the following:
An entire course can be PBL based, or PBL can be used for part of a given unit.
Depending on your learning goals, it is possible to design problems with a narrow range of correct solutions (such as medical diagnoses) or with a wider range of creative possibilities (such as architectural designs).
Though usually based in groupwork, PBL can also have individualized components, provided that students are required to come together to discuss their findings.

32. Problem-Based Learning: The Process
Identify objectives/learning outcomes to be addressed.
Decide what activities/artifacts will demonstrate mastery. Identify/design assessment instruments.
Decide how much time you have/can give to the activity and set the time apart.
Find/design the problem situation.
Identify and obtain necessary student resources.
Form groups.
Begin project.
Constantly monitor and coach.

33. Problem-Based Learning: The Process
Present the problem situation.
List what is known.
Develop a problem statement.
List what is needed.
List possible actions, recommendations, solutions, or hypotheses.
Present and support the solution.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

34. PBL Planning Guide Resources Needed Support materials for students:
Problem situation statement
Supportive documents
Web track
Expert list
Print-based resources
Opportunities for research
Assessment Instruments
Presentation Resources
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

35. The Unit in Action Remember: The Goals of PBL include:
Course objectives and learning outcomes
General research skills
Higher level thinking
Collaborative work skills
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

36. The Unit in Action
Present the problem situation to students. They will:
List what is known.
Develop a problem statement.
List what is needed to solve the problem.
List possible actions, recommendations, solutions, or hypotheses.
Present and support the solution.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

37. 1. Present the problem statement.
Introduce an "ill-structured" problem or scenario to students. They should not have enough prior knowledge to solve the problem. This simply means they will have to gather necessary information or learn new concepts, principles, or skills as they engage in the problem-solving process.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

38. 2. List what is known.
Student groups list what they know about the scenario. This information is kept under the heading: "What do we know?" This may include data from the situation as well as information based on prior knowledge.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

39. 3. Develop a problem statement.
A problem statement should come from the students' analysis of what they know. The problem statement will probably have to be refined as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation. Typical problem statements may be based on discrepant events, incongruities, anomalies, or stated needs of a client.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

40. 4. List what is needed.
Presented with a problem, students will need to find information to fill in missing gaps. A second list is prepared under the heading: "What do we need to know?" These questions will guide searches that may take place on-line, in the library, and in other out-of-class searches.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

41. 5. List possible actions, recommendations, solutions, or hypotheses.
Under the heading: "What should we do?" students list actions to be taken (e.g., questioning an expert), and formulate and test tentative hypotheses.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

42. 6. Present and support the solution.
As part of closure, teachers may require students to communicate, orally and/or in writing, their findings and recommendations. The product should include the problem statement, questions, data gathered, analysis of data, and support for solutions or recommendations based on the data analysis.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

43. 6. Present and support the solution.
Students are encouraged to share their findings on-line with teachers and students in other schools, within the district, region, state, nation, or internationally. Teachers will find that students pay more attention to quality when they have to present or show their written products to students in other schools.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

44. Planning Guide Course Objective Matrix Objective Measured by…
Read different kinds of text for understanding
Research log
Final report

45. Planning Guide Time Allowance
Total time: 2 class periods separated by two weeks’ out-of-class research time
Assigned: October 15
Presentations: October 29

46. Planning Guide Problem situations Invent or find Search key words
Discipline or topic + PBL
Discipline or topic + Problem-based Learning
Discipline or topic + Problem based learning

47. For example, “environmental science PBL”

48. Planning Guide Problem situations
As you explore the civilizations of the ancient world, you will try to answer questions about how people lived thousands of years ago. It may be hard to answer every question because sometimes there is not enough evidence to support a conclusion. Historians may also look at the same evidence in different ways. Sometimes the experts have to change their answers as new artifacts are discovered. In this activity, you will study the structures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. As you learn about these wonders of the ancient world, remember that there are many different ideas about why and how they were built. Some people think that ancient people learned how to build these awesome monuments by aliens from outer space who were more advanced than earthlings. Others believe that one culture may have borrowed from other people on earth who already knew how to build. Still others think that people in these cultures created the monuments totally on their own without any outside contact.

49. Planning Guide Problem situations
Math
Language Arts
Science
Collection

50. Planning Guide Support materials for students Text-based references
Web tracks or access to web
Prepared files, maps, reports, etc.
Instruments and/or instructions for gathering original data
Access to experts

51. Give support Clear directions Time Frame Check List

52. Planning Guide Assessment Research report Portfolio Debate
Presentation
Website

53. Defining Assessment
“An assessment is an activity, assigned by the professor, that yields comprehensive information for analyzing, discussing, and judging a learner’s performance of valued abilities and skills.”
- Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
In this definition we see roles for assessment beyond simply monitoring and judging the acquisition of knowledge: there is also a need for an analysis of student learning: How is it happening? Where are the barriers to full understanding? What is working well for the student - can those approaches be exploited more fully? What assessment activities are best suited for generating this type of information?
Well-designed assessments can help us understand how our students are learning: the real audience for that information, however, should be the students themselves. One of the goals of problem-based learning, after all, is to develop in students the ability to become independent learners. They, even more than we as instructors, need to understand not only how they’re learning at present, but what they can do to improve that learning. This requires a discussion: feedback from student to instructor to diagnose the student’s learning, followed by feedback from instructor to student both about how well they’re doing and about how to improve in the future. We will look briefly at the practice of using rubrics both to set standards of expectation and to provide feedback to students.
Assessment is more than assigning grades: it implies ongoing interaction and communication between instructor and student.

54. Key Questions What do I want my students to learn?
How will I know if they’ve learned it?
How much do I value that learning?
Learning objectives
Content knowledge
Process skills
Assessment strategies
Summative
Formative
Look at what counts towards the grade

55. Types of Assessment Summative assessment Formative assessment
Traditional grading for accountability
Usually formal, comprehensive
Judgmental
Formative assessment
Feedback for improvement/development
Usually informal, narrow/specialized
Suggestive

56. Assessment and Learning Objectives
Bringing content and process together
Content Knowledge
Process Skills
Assessment

57. Bloom’s Cognitive Levels
Evaluation - make a judgment based on criteria
Synthesis - produce something new from component parts
Analysis - break material into parts to see interrelationships
Application - apply concept to a new situation
Comprehension - explain, interpret
Knowledge - remember facts, concepts, definitions

58. Evaluating Learning through Rubrics
Rubric: a set of specific criteria against which a product is to be judged
Criteria reflect learning objectives for that activity
Several achievement levels are identified for each criterion
Benchmark features indicating quality of work at each level are clearly described for each criterion
Rubrics can be used for both formative and summative assessment.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

59. Rubric Design Criteria Achievement Levels Objective 1 Objective 2
Excellent
Good
Needs Work
Not acceptable
Objective 1
Accepted Minor Major Rejected
revision revision
Objective 2
Expert Advanced Intermediate Novice
Objective 3

60. Rubric Construction Achievement Levels Criteria State an objective
Excellent
Good
Needs Work
Not acceptable
State an objective
Describe characteristic features of each level of achievement

61. Rubric to Evaluate PBL Problems
Descriptors
Criteria 3 2 1
Realism
Based on an actual or fictionalized real-world situation linking topic to learner.
Contrived or contains unrealistic elements that decrease credibility.
Unrealistic, lacking relevant context.
Content
Addresses significant conceptual issues; directly related to major content goals.
Encourages superficial rather than in-depth understanding concepts.
Relevance of topic peripheral or not apparent.
Engagement
Stimulates discussion and inquiry through its relevance and presentation.
Generates limited or superficial discussion; provokes little curiosity.
Lacks a “hook”; obscure or pedantic presentation.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

62. Rubric to Evaluate PBL Problems
Descriptors
Criteria 3 2 1
Complexity
Appropriately challenging; group effort and cooperation required; some ambiguity appropriate; integrates multiple concepts.
Difficult but may encourage a “divide and conquer” approach. Concepts not well integrated.
Solution accessible to most students working alone; focused on single concept.
Resolution
Open to multiple resolutions or multiple pathways to solution, depending on student assumptions and reasoned arguments.
Resolution is more obvious but allows reasonable opportunity for judgment and discussion.
One right answer is expected; limited opportunity for analysis and decision making.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

63. Rubric to Evaluate PBL Problems
Descriptors
Criteria 3 2 1
Structure
Progressive disclosure via multiple stages, builds on existing student knowledge.
Staging does not flow well; transition could be improved.
Too much or too little information provided at once; short cuts thinking/research.
Questions
Limited in number, short, and open-ended; encourage deeper understanding.
Most are directive; preempt student-generated learning issues.
Lead to “yes-no” answers rather than thoughtful discussion.
Research
Promotes substantive research using multiple resources.
Research limited to textbook material.
Limited necessity for research.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

64. Advantages of Rubric Use
Clarifies expectations
Efficient, specific feedback concerning areas of strength, weakness
Convenient evaluation of both content and process learning objectives
Encourages self-assessment: use as guideline
Minimizes subjectivity in scoring
Focal point for ongoing feedback for improvement
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

65. Other Ideas for Rubric Use
Have students participate in setting criteria, performance descriptions
Use old student work and let students practice with the rubric prior to the assignment
Have students use rubric to rate own work or peers’ work; submit rating with assignment
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

66. Planning Guide Student resources Problem statement
Research progress sheets
Checklists
Presentation
Website
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

67. Conclusion
The best education reflects life and helps students acquire the knowledge and skills to live life to its fullest. PBL is NOT easy. It is difficult and complex. As is life.
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005). What makes a good PBL problem? Retrieved on January 22, 2008, from
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005).

68. References cited
Duch, B; Groh, S.; & Allen, D. (2001). The power of problem-based learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Available online at
Evensen, D. & Hmelo, C. (Eds). 2001). Problem-based learning: A research perspective onlearning interactions. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Center for Instructional Development and Research (2004). Retrieved on January 22, 2008, from
Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (2005). PBL Clearing House, University of Delaware. Available from the Internet at