PBL and educational innovation

1. PBL and educational innovation Lars Peter Jensen Associate profesor Department of Control Engineering lpj@es.aau.dk Xiangyun Du Associate professor Department of Development and Planning xiangyun@plan.aau.dk

2. Overview • Reflection on university teaching and learning • Why PBL - Challenges and changes • PBL history, understanding, philosophy and principles • Diversity of PBL practice

3. Reflection on own learning stories

4. ’There is still one more seat in the wall’ The way I was educated Big class, little room for individual ideas http://www.cnsphoto.com/

5. Same materials year after year…

6. Memory is more important than application skills for high scores…

7. Transferred knowledge will be returned after exams

8. Your learning stories Please spend 3 minutes sharing your learning stories with your neighbours

9. Am I teaching the same way I was taught? Need for Innovation in Engineering Education

10. Room for innovation?

11. http://eby.cc/p/1961.htm Can innovation be facilitated in this way?

12. 5 minutes’ discussion What is your understanding of learning? Based on your own experiences, what are the roles of university teaching in relation to learning?

13. Teaching = Learning ?

14. Teaching = learning? Yes, it’s actually true – you can get a degree by repeating everything the teacher says. ”We pretend that there is co-incidence between what is being taught and what is being learned” (Knud Illeriis, 1998)

15. Teaching = Learning? “Teaching does not mean transferring knowledge but creating opportunities for …producing and constructing it.” (Paulo Freire) (Karl Smith, UMN)

16. Learning – is it only about how brain works?

17. Philosophy and theories related to PBL

18. Two “exaggerated” views of learning and institutions The top-down view: There is a well-defined body of knowledge that should be passed on to students through the educational food-chain – from ministry plans to the student – National strategies, material databases, learning objects, curriculum. Knowledge view: “Delivery or transmission of knowledge” Ministry: National curriculum University Faculty Department Education (e.g. human centred informatics) Lecturers Student or groups of students

19. Two “exaggerated” views of learning and institutions The dispersion model – Aalborg’s view – focus on creation of knowledge There is an ill-defined and massive body of knowledge that no individual or institution in itself can handle. Knowledge construction can be seen as diffusion of knowledge between different types of nodes in networks, where some nodes are more central than others. Knowledge is created, through transgressing boundaries, collecting, distributing and aggregating ”bits” of knowledge into regimes of competence Knowledge view: “Chaotic diffusion of knowledge” and a focus on the creation of knowledge

20. Constructivism on Learning • Learning is not a process of transferring knowledge to the students – as if the student is a passive receiver. • Much learning in institutions are directed towards a certain curriculum or canonized set of knowledge that the student must learn (or rather memorize) • Much assessment is a measurement of how much of this knowledge the students have memorized – not on their ability to produce new knowledge or to use their knowledge in real settings

21. Constructivism • Knowledge and learning is created by the students – not given to them. • Knowledge and learning should be about construction, producing new knowledge, solutions, theories and methods. • Learning and knowledge construction is facilitated by collaboration – dialogue, critical reviews, coordinating efforts.

22. Learning in Communities of Practice Participation Informal Unintended Knowledge sharing

23. Learning to become Social learning Integration of formal curriculum and informal learning Life Long Learning Original figure in Wenger 2004

24. Bloom Knowledge - memorize Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Levels of understanding - Bloom Surface learning Deeper learning

25. PBL Learning Principles Learning Principles (Graff & Kolmos 2003)

26. A conceptualisation of PBL • PBL can be conceptualised as three central dimensions or processes that are stretched between teacher and participant control: • Problem – who defines and re-formulate? • Work Process – who chooses theory, methods and ways of working? • Solution – who owns the solution?

27. Why change? Why PBL

28. Need for change: Diversity of engineering competencies Scientific knowledge • Process competencies • Project management • Communication • Teamwork • Organization Technical competencies

29. Globalized context Effective communication Interdisciplinary knowledge Designing and conducting experiments Identity and solve applied science problems Application of mathematics and science knowledge Analytical skills Lifelong learning Project management Team work Social, environmental, and ethical concerns Intercultural competencies Need for change:accreditations Diverse capabilities • National Academy of Engineering, The Engineer of 2020, 2004 • EUR-ACE (Accreditation of European Engineering Programmes and Graduates,http://www.feani.org/EUR_ACE/EUR_ACE_Main_Page.htm • - ABET: http://www.abet.org/

30. Need for change: industry expectations Comparaison of capabilities taught at universities and required in professional life by young profesionals - Germany (Becker 2006)

31. Ranking of capabilities important in professional life by young electrical engineers five years after graduation - Germany (Becker 2006)

32. Cortese 2003 Need for change:How to facilitate innovation – role of university?

33. Need for change: Challenges for the curricula In TRADITIONAL learning environment What the student can learn within a given time Student’s own interest Border of presently “known” knowledge Border of “new” knowledge - ever expanding Expected skills from industry Social & global responsibilities

34. Educational changes in Denmark • New study programs: enriched engineering disciplines • New expectations: broadened engineering skills and competences • New study forms: implementing student centred and work place-imitated learning environment (for example, PBL as an educational strategy) New challenges and tasks for educators

35. PBL as a strategy for change: development and diversity of practice McMaster 1968 Maastricht 1972 Linkoping 1972 Roskilde 72 Aalborg 74 • Problem orientation • Interdisciplinarity • Exemplary learning • Participant directed • Group work • Problems as focus and stimulus for learning • Self directed learning • Student-centred and tutors as facilitators/guides • Team work

36. What is/are PBL(s)? ”PBL reflects the way people learn in real life; they simply get on with solving the problems life puts before them with whatever resources are to hand.”(Biggs 2003)

37. What is/are PBL(s)? “…. problem-based learning helps students to see that learning and life take place in contexts, contexts that affect the kinds of solutions that are available and possible.” (Savin-Baden 2003)

38. What is PBL? • ”Problem based learning is a pedagogical strategy for posing significant, contextualised, real world situations, and providing resources, guidance and instruction to learners as they develop content knowledge and problem-solving skills” (Mayo et. Al., 1993)

39. What is PBL? • PBL is Student-Centred Learning • Where motivating and activating students is the prime concern • The point of departure for the learning process is an ill-structured real life problem

40. http://www.cnsphoto.com/ What is/are PBL(s)? What do people do… • Some who claim to be doing might not be • Some are doing without realizing

41. PBL Learning Principles Learning Principles (Graff & Kolmos 2003)

42. Ways of implementation Problem solving techniques in the lecture Problem Based Learning in subjects / at institutional level Project Based Learning in subjects / at institutional level Problem and Project Based Learning Inquiry Based Learning Outcome Based Learning Modes of practice Senario Case Transdisciplinary Intercultural projects Mega project Individual / team Online Based / Face to face Variation

43. Diversity of PBL practice Implementation Moesby, E. 2004. "Reflections on making a change towards Project Oriented and Problem-Based Learning (POPBL)”, World Transactions on Engineering Technology Education (WTE&TE), UICEE, Monash University, Australia. Volume 3, No. 2, December 2004.

44. Lectures Literature Questions Answers Seminars Problem solving skills in the lecture

45. Subject 1 Project 1 Subject 2 Project 2 http://www.cnsphoto.com/ Project Based Learning Moesby 2004

46. Subject 1 Subject 2 Project Subject 1 Project Subject 3 Subject 2 Innovations Moesby 2004

47. PBL at institutional level

48. Republic Polytechnic (RP) – Visions Learning outcomes: Knowledgeable (understand, share, apply) Inquirers and thinkers with ability to reason Open minded, risk takers and decision makers Communicators and negotiators, Teamworkers Caring and tolerant individuals with a balanced outlook and good values Learning-enabled

49. RP – ’one day – one problem’ 25 students per class – 5 teams of 5 students A facilitator assigned for the day for each class A problem given in the morning Five different but related problems per week Daily assessment supplemented by ’understanding tests’ 49

50. The daily routine at RP - 1 50