ProblemBased Learning Partnered with Emerging Technology: Putting Students at the Center of their Le

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Problem-Based Learning Partnered with Emerging
TechnologyPutting Students at the Center of
their Learning
Mark Serva George Watson
Institute for TransformingUndergraduate Education
University of Delaware
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University ofDelaware Dela where?
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The Way It Was... 1973
2008
scientific calculators, graphing
calculators, laptops and notebooks, PDAs tablet
PCs, gigabytes and gigahertz, ubiquitous computing
Computation and Calculation
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The Way It Was... 1973
2008
e-mail, voice-mail, chatrooms, cell phones, text
messaging, instant messaging, blogging, wireless
connectivity
Communication and Collaboration
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The Way It Was... 1973
2008
Online Information web catalogs, networked
databases, Britannica Online, online
newspapers, course websites, CMS and
LMS, podcasting, wikis
Collections and Connections
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Our changing environment
Teachers (Digital Immigrants) may assume that
students (Digital Natives) are the same as they
were - that the same methods that worked for them
when they were students will work for their
students now. But that assumption is no longer
valid.
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, by Marc
Prensky
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An important question
Given the amazing advances in technology and the
dramatic change in the environment of our
students, Can we afford to continue teaching the
way we were taught?
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First, a quick exercise

• Individually, write down several words or short
  phrases that come to mind when you think of
• Student-Centered Learning
• In pairs or small groups, select three most
  important.
• Finally, report out just one.

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the individuals learning the most in the typical
classrooms are the teachers there. They have
reserved for themselves the very conditions that
promote learning
What I know best I have taught
actively seeking new information, integrating it
with what is known, organizing it in a meaningful
way, and explaining it to others.
Page 35, Huba and Freed, Learner-Centered
Assessment on College Campuses Shifting the
Focus from Teaching to Learning, 2000
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What Is PBL?

• The principal idea behind PBL is that the
  starting point for learning should be a problem,
  a query, or a puzzle that the learner wishes to
  solve.
• Boud, D. (1985) PBL in perspective. In PBL in
  Education
• for the Professions, D. J. Boud (ed) p. 13.

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What Is PBL?
PBL is a learning approach that challenges
students to learn to learn, working
cooperatively in groups, to seek solutions to
real world problems.
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What Is PBL?

• PBL prepares students
• to think critically and analytically,
• to find and use appropriate learning resources,
• to communicate effectively, orally and in
  writing,
• to work well as members of a team.

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What are the CommonFeatures of PBL?

• Learning is initiated by a problem.
• Problems are based on complex, real-world
  situations.
• All information needed to solve problem is not
  given initially.
• Students identify, find, and use appropriate
  resources.
• Students work in permanent groups.
• Learning is active, integrated, cumulative, and
  connected.

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A Typical Day in a PBL Course
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PBL The Process
Resolution of Problem (How did we do?)
Presentation of Problem
Next stage of the problem
Organize ideas and prior knowledge (What do we
know?)
Integrate new Information Refine questions
Pose questions (What do we need to know?)
Reconvene, report on research
Assign responsibility for questions discuss
resources
Research questions summarize analyze findings
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Problem-Based Learning Partnered with Emerging
TechnologyPutting Students at the Center of
their Learning
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Technology is a Funny Thing.

• My academic background
• Degrees
• Teaching
• But
• I cant figure out 90 of the functions on my
  cell phone
• My 14-year old son figured out how to hook up my
  home theater system.

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On the Other Hand

• Our new Nintendo Wii offers opportunities for us
  as a family.
• My iPod helped me pass the time on the flight.
• My phone allows me to stay in touch with my
  family.
• Frustrations, quality of life.

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Technology in the Classroom

• Those frustrations also occur when we teach.
• The only time you should use technology
• - Enhances learning
• - Helps achieve learning objectives.
• What technologies have a high benefit yet low
  barrier to entry?

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What Is a Wiki?

• Wiki versus Wikipedia
• All Wiki users have an inherent right to change
  anything on the page. 
• Along with this right comes an expectation of
  mutual respect and trust - i.e., that
  participants will create an effective product
  that reflect multiple perspectives.
• One of the founders of Wikipedia once stated,
  The only way you can write something that
  survives in a Wiki is that someone whos your
  diametrical opposite can agree with it. In other
  words, don't dictatecollaborate!

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How Can Wikis EncourageStudent-Centered Learning?
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
Lets See What Wikis Can Do.
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Wikis and the Journal Review Process

• Journal Reviews require analysis, synthesis, and
  evaluation.
• Can wikis provide that same level of intellectual
  stimulation?

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Advantages of Wikis

• Simple to use and understand
• Can create a web-based resource for future
  classes
• Require students to think about how to improve
  existing content as well as integrate new content

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SharePoint

• Facilitates Student-Centered Learning by allowing
  students to organize their teams.
• Features
• - Document Repository
• - Team Calendar
• - Announcements and Tasks
• - Alerts

Lets See What SharePoint Can Do.
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Selection of Technology for Class

• UsefulnessDoes it achieve your class learning
  objectives?
• Ease of UseDoes it reinforce the concepts, or
  create barriers to learning?
• AcceptabilityStudents will accept the technology
  and use it on their own.
• CostCan the university and students afford the
  technology?

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Characteristics Neededin College Graduates

• High level of communication skills.
• Ability to define problems, gather and evaluate
  information, develop solutions.
• Team skills -- ability to work with others.
• Ability to use all of the above to address
  problems in a complex real-world setting.

Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education
(1994) Wingspread Conference, ECS, Boulder, CO.
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Other Reasons for Using PBL?

• Students learning to communicate in a common
  language.
• International Islamic University of Malaya

Innovation and thinking outside of the
box. Republic Polytechnic, Singapore
Student engagement learning how to learn.
Inquiry-based approach, bringing research-like
approach to thousands of students.
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• The principal idea behind PBL is that the
  starting point for learning should be a problem,
  a query, or a puzzle that the learner wishes to
  solve.
• Boud (1985)

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UD PBL online

• PBL at UDwww.udel.edu/pbl
• PBL Clearinghousewww.udel.edu/pblc
• This presentationwww.udel.edu/pbl/yzu