Problem-Based Learning

Characteristics of the Problem-Based Learning Instructional Strategy

PBL is a pedagogical learner-centered approach that empowers students to conduct research, integrate [Page 724]theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem. Critical to the success of the approach is the selection of ill-structured problems (often interdisciplinary) and a tutor who guides the learning process and conducts a thorough debriefing at the conclusion of the learning experience. Barbara Duch, Susan Groh, and Deborah Allen argue that PBL develops specific skills, including the ability to think critically; analyze and solve complex, real-world problems; to find, evaluate, and use appropriate learning resources; to work cooperatively; to demonstrate effective communication skills; and to use content knowledge and intellectual skills to become continual learners. Linda Torp and Sara Sage describe PBL as focused, experiential learning organized around the investigation and resolution of messy, real-world problems. They describe students as engaged problem solvers seeking to identify the root problem and the conditions needed for a good solution and in the process becoming self-directed learners. Cindy Hmelo-Silver describes PBL as an instructional method in which students learn through facilitated problem solving that centers on a complex problem that does not have a single correct answer. She notes that students work in collaborative groups to identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, engage in self-directed learning, apply their new knowledge to the problem, and reflect on what they learned and the effectiveness of the strategies employed.

Barrows has described a set of generic PBL essential characteristics including: students must have the responsibility for their own learning, the problem simulations used in problem-based learning must be ill-structured and allow for free inquiry, learning should be integrated from a wide range of disciplines or subjects, collaboration is essential, what students learn during their self-directed learning must be applied back to the problem with reanalysis and resolution, a closing analysis of what has been learned from work with the problem and a discussion of what concepts and principles have been learned is essential, self- and peer assessment should be carried out at the completion of each problem and at the end of every curricular unit, the activities carried out in problem-based learning must be those valued in the real world, student examinations must measure student progress toward the goals of problem-based learning, and problem-based learning must be the pedagogical base in the curriculum and not part of a didactic curriculum.

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