I like that students are given problems to solve and I always loved working to solve a real-world problem when I was in school. I loved role-playing because it allows you to be in a situation as opposed to reading and writing about it. I think you learn more when you actively participate. I think it is also helpful to watch other students role-play and see how they would handle a situation. That way you can determine things you can improve on and things not to do.
I also like that the teacher is not a "teacher" but a facilitator. I like that they guide the groups, but do not have to stand there and lecture. There are several times that I wish my students were a little older so that I could facilitate more and teach less. I like when people develop their own ideas and you just guide the process instead of having to teach facts and kind-of tell people what to think or how to think.
From what my limited range of thought allowed for the evening...I think I like the basics of PBL. I would like to read about how it is used in settings other than medical training and I would really like to see it actually done in a classroom. I think that would help my understanding of what it is and how it works. I would also like to see how it is used with technology because I am not sure I understand the advantage to using technology as opposed to face-to-face with this method. I was also confused about the part where the students all sat in a room/lab and could use the computers and see each others screens on their screen. Maybe I read that wrong and misunderstood it, but if I am in a room with people, I prefer to talk with them rather than use our computers to communicate...call me old-fashioned! I feel like I really must have read that wrong...but I am not sure.
Good points about role-playing and modeling. The nice thing about teaching science is that there are usually a lot of people doing work both behind the scenes (the scientists) and in the public eye (public relations), so there are plenty of interesting and enjoyable roles to assign to students. And I agree that students, especially low-achieving ones, learn a lot by witnessing other students' unique approaches to and perspectives on problems. These are definite advantages to problem-based learning.
ReplyDeleteJill Sipe: I like the chance to be the facilitator instead of having to lecture all the time. I also set myself up to be a resident expert and in order to ask me questions, they have to "pay me my consultant fee." After blowing half of their budget on stupid questions, they quickly realized that they need to think for themselves and come up with their own solutions. This behavior also carries over to the classroom and I find that the students become more self sufficient and less dependent on me for the answers.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI like your honesty, and I wondered about the computer lab setup too. I realized the lab was part of a study, but it did seem odd that the students were located in the same room and on separate computers!
Here, here on the same room / computer lab piece. I never really got that as well. Wouldn't mind exploring other avenues/domains for PBL learning either.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honesty - this is a blog and it should be more than just information summary. :)