1. Experimentation Protocol 12-13 December 2008 Sofia 3rd Meeting This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. EUCLIDES – Enhancing the Use of Cooperative Learning to Increase Development of Science studies 134246-LLP-1-2007-1-IT-COMENIUS-CMP

2. PBL Quick Facts What is PBL? PBL is not a new model of instruction. Plato and Socrates required that their students think, retrieve information for themselves, search for new ideas and debate them in a scholarly environment. Where did PBL come from? PBL was officially adopted as a pedagogical approach in 1968 at McMaster University, a Canadian medical school, because students were unable to apply their basic scientific knowledge to clinical situations. How Does it Work? Students in small groups investigate and analyze problems/scenarios. Using an organizer process of; 1) identifying the FACTS in the problem/scenario; 2) generating their IDEAS about the scenario/problem and identifying just "what is the problem?"; 3) finally identifying the things they have to LEARN about - in order to test their hypotheses (ideas). Why is this an effective science approach? The use of this three step inquiry- organizer helps students become familiar with a scientist’s reasoning process, to fill the gaps in their own knowledge base, and to use their newly acquired knowledge to refine or discard their ideas thus generating a whole new set of LEARNING NEEDS.

3. PBL Quick Facts Some of the benefits of pbl student centred (understanding the needs of the student learner) integrative (skills and content) problem-based (eg real world real time problems) self-directed (eg pursue own learning enquiry and often manage complex timetabling) collaborative(often for staff and students) reflective creative… encourages making connections and thinking ‘outside the box’

4. PBL Quick Facts Some skills developed through pbl INTELLECTUAL Generic-critical reasoning, creative thinking, problem-working INTELLECTUAL Subject knowledge and understanding- eg interdisciplinarity PRACTICAL/APPLIED Generic- formulating hypotheses, designing investigative strategies, information gathering, information handling, evaluating information COMMUNICATION -presenting (oral/written/graphic) INTERPERSONAL-teamwork SELF AND CAREER MANAGEMENT - timemanagement, group management…

5. PBL Quick Facts Some skills developed through pbl

6. PBL Quick Facts The PBL process

7. PBL Quick Facts Interdisciplinarity "... the problems of the world do not come in simple disciplinary containers. There are interconnections between ecology and economics, for example, and between them and politics. In the end, all knowledge is connected.........” – Barnett, R. 1990. The Idea of Higher Education. The Society for Research into Higher Education/Open University Press. p176

8. PBL in EUCLIDES: Working phases SETTING SCENARIO RESEARCHPATH RESEARCH PATH PRODUCT CONSTRUCTION PRESENTATION OF THE FINAL PRODUCT EVALUATION

9. 1st PHASE SETTING – creating the cooperation working environment (2 hours) – cooperation work in school - definition of the roles of the teacher and students - group organisation (criteria) - system of rules: construction and sharing (e.g. definition of roles, secretary, facilitator, technician, person in charge of data collecting, other) - construction of a work ethic for the group work (and of the group participants) - establishing the typology of products presentation (communication of results) - single out the assessment instruments (e.g. credits…) - sharing the criteria and tools for the documentation

10. 1st PHASE SETTING – creating the cooperation working environment How do I safeguard the integrity of the process? The integrity of the process depends to a great extent on the groups themselves. Groups are kept small, approximately 4/5 students and a facilitator. At the beginning of the process, group norms are set by the students in the group. Norms include but are not limited to: Respect for everyone’s ideas – no idea is "stupid"; not interrupting someone else while they are speaking; in other words "what should be OK in this process and what should not be OK – the rules of the game". Students must establish ground rules and help create a comfortable climate for collaborative learning. The most important task is to establish a non-judgmental climate in which students recognize and articulate what they know and what they do not know.

11. 1st PHASE SETTING – creating the cooperation working environment Some key words Work together Respect each other Respect the rules Be responsible for your work Share information Listen and explain Use low/quite voice Compliment each other Disagreeing in a constructive way

12. 1st phase product THE PRODUCT: A DOCUMENT SHOWING -AGREED DECISIONS -CONTRACT

13. 2nd Phase SCENARIO: PRESENTATION of a incentive situation/scenario and Problem outlining (6 hours - 4 group and 2 collective) Creating PBL Scenarios Ideas for PBL scenarios can come from almost anywhere; literature, television programming, news programs or newspapers articles By use of graphics, animation, audio or video, the learner can experience an information-rich representation that can alert the learner to important physical and social contexts that are relevant to the task (Hoffman & Ritchie). This leads to greater cognitive fidelity between the real world and the learning task.

14. 2nd Phase SCENARIO: Introduce an "ill-structured" problem/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. They learn to investigate the same way as scientists. Problem based learning is the best way for students to learn how to conduct real life science investigations. They apply many strategies such as: asking questions, designing experiments, and developing a hypothesis When using the scientific method in combination with problem based learning, students develop a better understanding of experimental investigations. The best types of investigations for this strategy are science mysteries. Students use critical thinking skills as they design and conduct an investigation to solve a mystery.

15. Scenario Example The numbers of frogs in the school’s pond are decreasing suddenly. The students are asked to investigate what is happening to the frogs. Some say bats are eating the frogs. Others say someone is dumping chemicals into the water. Still others say snakes are eating the frogs. Another strong rumor is the water is becoming polluted. Students now need to find out what is already known about the frogs to begin their investigation.

16. 2nd phase The principal idea behind problem-based learning (pbl)…..is that the starting point for learning should be a problem, a query or a puzzle that the learner wishes to solve. ‘Scenario’ for pbl can be given as text/story/critical incident, Cartoons/pictures, Photographs, Audio tapes, Video clips, newspaper article, email etc.etc….anything that ‘triggers’ the learning process!

17. 2nd Phase PRESENTATION of a incentive situation/scenario and Problem outlining (6 hours - 4 group and 2 collective) Each group will: -set a series of questions connected with incentives (free discussion) -choose the topic to work on according to the questions -define the problem -analyse the problem -review and organise competences with regard to aspects already analysed and Explore the issues. What do I already know and believe about this topic and how can I share that with my team-mates? -outline what is not yet known in order to formulate a hypothetical solution to the problem -set hypothesis and objectives of the research work

18. 2nd Phase 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. 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. 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. 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.

19. 2nd Phase Teachers as facilitators Questioning (what have you learnt in the past about that…? ie building on prior experience) Remaining silent at times Guiding (have you thought of…?) Challenging (how does that work..?) Playing Devil’s Advocate ( an alternative scenario might be…?) Stimulate discussion –if they get stuck ( do you know from other work of any examples….? what might the pitfalls be….? have you thought about time/cost/social/political/ethical factors etc etc) Monitor group process and respond effectively to undermining behaviours ( I thought that you agreed that…?) Keep track of progress

20. 2nd Phase What makes a good scenario? Close to reality Appropriate to the student contexts Aligned to learning outcomes and assessment (appropriate to the level of study) Appropriate level of complexity/openness Challenging & sustaining (Engaging, Active and Motivating to all learning styles) Beyond knowledge and recall

21. 2nd Phase Product PRODUCT: EACH GROUP WILL INFORM THE OTHERS IN THE COURSE OF A MEETING ABOUT THE WORK DONE AND ASSESS IT WITH COLLEAGUES AND TEACHERS.

22. Third phase REALIZATION OF THE RESEARCH ITINERARY/PATH (6 hours group work in school + online activity + 2 hours of collective work) Guided observation -Resources outlining (e.g. bibliography and sitography) -Data and information analysis -Group re-elaboration of data and information -First hand hypothesis formulation Often this involves failures as students discover that what they discovered is not enough to solve the problem. It involves a lot of talking – stating ideas, defending propositions, and criticizing

23. 3rd phase Product PRODUCTS: -EACH GROUP WILL INFORM THE OTHER ONE IN THE COURSE OF A MEETING ABOUT THE WORK DONE AND ASSESS IT WITH COLLEAGUES AND TEACHERS -PREPARATION OF THE FRST DRAFT OF THE FINAL PRESENTATION (the presentation can be also a video to be forecast in EUCLIDES Web TV)

24. 4th phase 1)ASSESSMENT OF THE SOLUTION TO THE INITIAL PROBLEM (1 hour) Each group will assess the validity of the work carried out. If positive, they move on to step n. 5, otherwise the cycle will be repeated from step n. 3.

25. Last steps 1) CREATING THE PRODUCT FOR THE PRESENTATION (the timetable is determined by the type of product) Planning and realisation of the product 2)PRESENTATION OF FINAL PRODUCT 3)GROUP SELF-ASSESSMENT

26. EVALUATION: some indicators Ability to group work and participation to social climate Respect of time and role within the group Knowledge of scientific language Ability to establish links between concepts Ability to build a theory from observation Ability to single out and analyse a problem Truthseeking Openmindedness Inquisitiveness Systematicity Cognitive Maturity Analyticity

27. EVALUATION: some indicators

28. Thanks for your kind attention Now let’s work! This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. EUCLIDES – Enhancing the Use of Cooperative Learning to Increase Development of Science studies 134246-LLL-1-2007-IT-COMENIUS-CMP