Problem-Based Learning

Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D.Jody and Layton Smith Professor in Education

Executive Director, Center for Gifted EducationCollege of William & Mary

Centerfor

GiftedEducation

Williamsport, Pa.October 23, 2003

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to :

• Define PBL• Apply PBL to a content topic to be taught• Analyze PBL in relation to other models of

inquiry

What is PBL?

Problem-based learning is an instructional strategy (a curricular framework) that, through student and community interests and motivation, provides an appropriate way to “teach” sophisticated content and high-level process… all while building self-efficacy, confidence, and autonomous learner behaviors

.

History of PBL

•Medical school model (Barrows)•Used in both elementary and secondary classrooms

with gifted students•Adapted for use with all learners•Used to educate school administrators

Research on PBL

• Students show significant learning gains in experimental design through a PBL approach (VanTassel-Baska, et.al. 2000)

• Students show enhanced ‘real world’ skills with no loss incontent knowledge as a result of using PBL (Gallagher & Stepein, 1996)

• Students & teachers are motivated to learn using the PBLapproach (VanTassel-Baska, 2000)

• Students show enhanced higher order skill development using PBL over other approaches to teaching science (Dods,1997)

Features of Problem-based Learning

• Learner-centered• Real world problem• Teacher as tutor or coach• Emphasis on collaborative teams• Employs metacognition• Uses alternative assessment• Embodies scientific process

Problem-Based Learning

Real world problem that is both complex and inter-disciplinary

Ability to handle higher level thinking and make connections

Inquiry-based at multiple levels

Curious inquirers about the world

Students in charge of their learning

Desire for self-directed learning

Characteristics of PBL

Characteristics of the Gifted

Ill-Structured Problems

• Ambiguous• No single “right” answer• Data is often incomplete• Definition of problem changes• Information needs change or grow• Stakeholders• Deadline for resolution

Center for Gifted EducationThe College of William and Mary

Problem Statement (Tailored for Local Area)

You are the supervisor of the day shift of the Virginia State Highway Patrol in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is 6:00 a.m. on a steamy June morning. You are awakened by the ringing phone. When you answer you are told, “Come to the Queen’s Creek overpass on eastbound Interstate 64. There has been a major accident and you are needed.”

Quickly you dress and hurry to the overpass. As you approach the bridge, you see an overturned truck that is completely blocking both eastbound lanes of the freeway. You see “CORROSIVE” on small signs on the side and rear of the truck. The truck has lost at least one wheel and is resting on the freeway guard rail. There is a large gash in the side of the truck; from this gash, a clear liquid is running down the side of the truck, onto the road, and down the hill into Queen’s Creek. Steam is rising from the creek. All traffic has been halted and everyone has been told to remain in their cars. Many of the motorists in the traffic jam appear to be angry and frustrated. Police officers, firemen, and rescue squad workers are at the scene. They are all wearing coveralls and masks. The rescue squad is putting the unconscious truck driver onto a stretcher. Everyone seems hurried and anxious.

Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary

Need to Know BoardWhat do we

know? What do we need

to know? How can we find

out?

Center for Gifted Education – School of Education – The College of William and Mary

Pre/Post-Test

How would you do a fair test of this question?Pre:Are earthworms attracted to light?Post: Are bees attracted to diet cola?Tell how you would test this question. Be as

scientific as you can as you write about your test. Write down the steps you would take to find out if earthworms like light/bees like diet cola.

Rubric

Pre Post plans for SAFETY states PROBLEM or QUESTION gives HYPOTHESIS lists STEPS (3+) arranges steps in SEQUENTIAL ORDER lists MATERIALS plans to REPEAT TESTING DEFINES TERMS plans for OBSERVATION plans for MEASUREMENT plans for DATA COLLECTION plans for INTERPRETING DATA plans to make CONCLUSION BASED ON DATA plans to CONTROL VARIABLES:

Experimental Design Components

• Independent variable: manipulated (x-axis) the variable that is purposefully changed by the experimenter.

• Dependent variable: responding (y-axis) the variable that responds.• Hypothesis: A prediction about the relationship between variables that

can be tested.• Constants: all factors that remain the same and have a fixed value.• Control: the standard for comparing experimental effects.• Repeated trials: the number of experimental repetitions, objects, or

organisms tested at each level of the independent variable.

Center for Gifted EducationThe College of William and Mary

Student Brainstorming Worksheet

1. What do we need to find out? (What is the scientific problem?)

2. What material do we have available?

3. How can we use these materials to help us find out?

4. What do we think will happen? (What is our hypothesis?)

5. What will we need to observe or measure in order to find out the answer to our scientific question?

Adapted from: Cothron, J. G., Giese, R. N., & Rezba, R.J. (1989). Students and research. IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.

Center for Gifted EducationThe College of William and Mary

Laboratory Report Form1. What did you do or test? (Include your experiment title.)

2. How did you do it? Materials and methods - you can go back to your Student Protocol Worksheet and use the information from the first two questions.

3. What did you find out? (Include a data summary and the explanation of its meaning.)

4. What did you learn from your experiment?

5. What further questions do you now have?

6. Does the information you learned help with the problem?

Center for Gifted EducationThe College of William and Mary

Dimensions of Comparison Among CPS, Inquiry & PBL

Metacognitive coachQuestion poser

Facilitator of group process

Role of Teacher

Starts with an ill structured problem

Confrontation with some kind of problem

Starts with a mess in which learner seeks to understand the problem

Nature of the problem

PBL(W&M)

InquiryCPSDimension

Dimensions of Comparison Among CPS, Inquiry & PBL (cont.)

Constructs meaning through metacognitive& scientific heuristics

Constructs meaning through questions, data collection & analysis

Constructs meaning through generating ideas

Role of learner

Application to real world utilization

Application to conceptual understanding of a set of ideas

Application to plan of action

Application

PBL(W&M)

InquiryCPSDimension

Implementation Issues in Using PBL

•Integration of content , process and concept learning

•Realistic problems

•Reality checks

•Use of resources

•Teacher variable

•Transfer effect

Center for Gifted EducationThe College of William and Mary

P. O. Box 8795Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795

Phone (757) 221-2362Fax (757) 221-2184

cfge@wm.eduhttp://www.cfge.wm.edu