16 Problem-based learning
When using problem-based learning (PBL), remember that the scenario comes first, serving as the trigger for learning.
Depending on what learners will be working on, some input will help, but you should only provide this after learners have started working through the scenario. This input can be in form of a workshop or information session about core concepts by subject specialists. Its purpose should be to provide useful information to help learners develop their thinking and decision-making linked to the scenario.
Learners will work in small, facilitated groups. They will begin by exploring and brainstorming around the initial problem. This includes asking many different questions. Abdrandt Dahlgren et al. (2001), in an empirical study with undergraduate students of an environmental science programme, found that students were asking specific types of questions:
- Encyclopaedic questions for more generic understanding and fact checking of specific phenomena.
- Meaning-oriented questions for conceptual understanding and problematisation of terms, concepts and phenomena.
- Relational questions for understanding links and consequences of phenomena.
- Value-oriented questions to evaluate consequences of phenomena.
- Solution-oriented questions to engage with the management of issues and phenomena, and search for solutions.
Using a PBL model to support collaborative inquiry may include the following steps for you and your learners:
Learners will need to work together, assign individuals specific roles, and be committed to each other and the task.
The facilitator is there to support and step in if the group appears to have issues that they can’t resolve on their own.
The facilitator uses open questions and does not provide answers.
The PBL group will need to agree how they’re going to share the outcome of their collaborative inquiry based on the scenario or problem.
A variety of media may be used to capture the outcome. This may help bring the learners’ ideas alive, and be an inclusive way to enable everyone to contribute and celebrate what they’ve learnt together.
