Problem-Based Learning

Process of PBL Students confront a problem. In groups, students organize prior knowledge and attempt to identify the nature of the problem. Students pose questions about what they do not understand. Students design a plan to solve the problem and identify the resources they need. Students begin to gather information as they work to solve the problem.

READING: Critical Thinking Reading/Study Strategies – P.L.A.N. / SQ4R; G.A.P. Vocabulary/Concept Development – Medial Terminology Graphic Organizers Reading Visual Graphics

STRATEGIES for ACADEMIC SUCCESS: Career Planning Educational Planning Advising Skills Knowing Academic Support Roles of Successful Students Leaning Skills: 1.Time Management 2.Note Taking 3.Stress Management 4.Memory Strategies 5.Test Taking and Test Anxiety

Tamara is 25, a single mother of a 6 year old son. She works 15 hours a week in a department store, and has decided that she wants to become a nurse. Presently she does not know much about college. She does not know what steps to take first, what she will have to do in order to get an associates degree in nursing, or how she can make it over the next two years if she decides to go after a degree. She has decided to draw up a two year plan of everything she will need to do in order to get a nursing degree. Step 1: Problem-Solving- Tamara Wants to Become a Nurse 1.Determine what your group knows that Tamara will need to know in order to create a plan for going to college and get an associates degree in nursing. 2.Identify what your group needs to know that they do not presently know. 3. Where can you get the information Tamara would need?

Step 2: Tamara Wants to Become a Nurse Once your group has worked with the problem as far as possible and identified what they need to learn, and have identified where to begin searching for the information, your group will need to begin researching the information needed.

Step 2: Tamara Wants to Become a Nurse Continued The group will be using the BIG 6 Strategy for researching information: see next slide of Big 6 steps.

Step 3: Tamara Wants to Become a Nurse Your group will then return to the problem and apply what they learned to their work with the problem in order to more fully understand and resolve the problem. The group will complete a two year plan for getting an associates degree in nursing.

Step 4: Tamara Wants to Become a Nurse After your group has finished their problem, the group assess themselves and each other to develop skills in self-assessment and the constructive assessment of peers. Self-assessment is a skill essential to effective independent learning.

Tamara is now 26, a single mother of a 6 year old son. She still works 15 hours a week in a department store, and is in the nursing program. She is having a difficult time managing and juggling her time between her daughter, work and school. She knows she is going to have to manage her time better, but just doesn’t see how she can squeeze another minute out of her schedule. Step 1: Problem-Solving- Tamara Has a Time Problem 1.Determine what your group knows that Tamara about time management and creating a time management plan for Tamara. 2.Identify what your group needs to know that they do not presently know. 3. Where can you get the information Tamara would need?

Step 2: Problem-Solving- Tamara Has a Time Problem Once your group has worked with the problem as far as possible and identified what they need to learn, and have identified where to begin searching for the information, your group will need to begin researching the information needed.

Step 3: Problem-Solving- Tamara Has a Time Problem Your group will then return to the problem and apply what they learned to their work with the problem in order to more fully understand and resolve the problem. The group will come up with a time management plan to help Tamara learn to manage her time better.

Step 4: Problem-Solving- Tamara Has a Time Problem After your group has finished their problem, the group assess themselves and each other to develop skills in self-assessment and the constructive assessment of peers. Self-assessment is a skill essential to effective independent learning.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around "ill structured" problems. Students gather and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines in their quest for solutions. Guided by teachers trained as cognitive coaches, students:  develop critical thinking skills  use problem solving skills  practice collaborative skills  formulate hypotheses  conduct data searches  perform experiments  generate solutions  determine the best solution

Problem-based Learning: The primary distinction is the focus on “introducing concepts to students by challenging them” to solve a real world problem. Traditional Learning: In contrast to the more traditional approach of assigning an application problem at the “end of a conceptual unit”. Problem-Based Learning Courses in the learning community will use problem- solving approaches to teach course content using information literacy skills and promoting critical thinking with authentic allied health materials.

Instructor assumes the role of expert or formal authority. Faculty member role is as a facilitator, guide, co-learner, mentor, coach, or professional consultant. Faculty members work in isolation. Faculty members work in teams with one another and staff outside discipline. Faculty members transmit information to the students. Students take responsibility for learning and create partnerships between student and teacher. Traditional versus PBL Classroom

Faculty members organize content into lectures based on context of discipline. Faculty members design course based on "ill-structured" problem empower students, and select concepts that will allow students to transfer knowledge. Faculty members enhance student motivation by providing real life problems and by understanding students' problems. Faculty members work individually within discipline. Faculty structure is supportive and flexible. Faculty members are involved in changing the instructional and assessment landscape through new assessment instruments and peer review. Traditional versus PBL Classroom

Students are viewed as "empty vessels" or passive receivers of information. Faculty members seek to encourage student initiative, empower students, and select concepts that will allow students to transfer knowledge. Students work in isolation. Students interact with faculty to provide immediate feedback about performance for improvement. Students absorb, transcribe, memorize, and repeat information for content specific tasks such as quizzes and exams. Faculty members design course based on "ill-structured" problems that provide a role for the student in learning.

Traditional versus PBL Classroom Learning is individualistic and competitive. Students experience learning in a collaborative and supportive environment. Students seek "right answer" to achieve success on a test. Faculty members discourage only one "right answer" but help students learn to frame questions, formulate problems, explore alternatives, and make effective decisions. Performance measured on content specific tasks. Students identify, analyze, and resolve problems using knowledge from previous experiences and courses, rather than simply recalling it.

Grading is summative, and the instructor is the only evaluator. Students evaluate their own contributions as well as other members and the entire group. Lecture based on one-way communication; information is conveyed to groups of students.Students work in groups to solve problems. Students acquire and apply knowledge in a variety of contexts. Students find resources, and faculty guide students to information and resources. Students seek useful and relevant knowledge to be able to apply toward job skills and employment. Traditional versus PBL Classroom

Provide course-integrated library instruction, whereby students learn information search, retrieval, and evaluation skills within the context of specific course content or course assignments (e.g., problem- based learning, research paper or group project). KEY TARGET AREAS & SPECIFIC ACTION STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING STUDENT PERSISTENCE Joe Cuseo – Where Should Retention Efforts be Directed?

Allied Health Students Will Need to be Able To Construct Meaning From Many Information Sources Use authentic texts