PBL ALE Symposium 2012 - Copenhagen

1. PBL ALE Symposium 2012 - Copenhagen Profiling student reflection on their learning gains in the initial stage of collaborative PBL learning Gordon Lindsay Alcock, Henrik Blyt VIA University College - School of Technology and Business - Horsens, Denmark

2. VIA University College has more than 2500 staff and approx. 17.000 full time students VIA University College offers ‘Profession bachelor’ education within the Technology, Business and Social/Educational sectors

3. Research progression 2006 – Start of PBL research into accommodating learning diversity – developing learning competencies / attitudes 2007 – Hands on presentation at ‘Reflektori’ in Helsinki 2008 – Practice paper - poster presentation at PBL Symposium in Aalborg and graduation  2009 – Full paper hand in at ALE in Barcelona 2009 – Full paper hand in at PBL Symposium in Melbourne 2009 – Profiling student reflection on their PBL learning gains 2011 – PBL Symposium Coventry

4. ALE 2012 ‘Bridging the gap’ Activating Questions • How do you get your new 1st year university students to understand the COMPLEXITY of what they are expected to learn? • How do you get your new 1st year students to develop their ATTITUDE to learning? – not just knowledge / skills / competencies? • How do you get your new 1st year students to DOCUMENT their learning? If you do – how do you do it? If you don’t – why not?

5. 2006 Start of PBL studies – Initial approach to learning diversity

6. Defining Learning ‘values’ • Longitudinal study - 2sem to 5th sem

7. VIA Portfolio model.Bloom’s Taxonomy, Competence ‘theory’ • From LOTS to HOTS Lower Order to Higher Order ThinkingSkills

8. Our ‘Heroes’ Kurt Lewin - “There is nothing more practical than good theory” DavidBoud - “The role of building on students previous experience is becoming increasingly recognised”, “Before they can build on it they have to define it – define both what they have learned and how they learnt best” Etienne Wenger - “The importance of active participation in the practice of communities and of constructing identities in relation to these communities”

9. Our ‘Heroes’ John Biggs -To prepare students for the future that is unknown to us and them and which creates great problems for learning and assessment now and will place demands on students for new knowledge and skills beyond anything they learn in their courses” Malcolm Knowles -”Self-directed learners who take the initiative to “diagnose their learning needs; formulate learning goals; identify human and material resources; choose and implement appropriate strategies and evaluate learning outcomes. ’Andragogy’ Kurt Lewin - “There is nothing more practical than good theory” - ALSO FOR THE STUDENTS! Gordon / Henrik

10. VIA L2L Portfolio – BLOOM’s BASED • From Quantitative to Qualitative reflection

11. FromQuantitative to Qualitativereflection

12. Reflection on learning

13. Developing Metacognitive skills – ” • ‘The learners automatic awareness of their own knowledge and ability to understand, control and manipulate their own cognitive processes’ - Vockell 2004

14. Conclusions We have developed a VIA Portfolio model that enables students to profile their learning gains in the initial stages – L2L -of collaborative PBL learning. VIA’s Bloom-based Portfolio model enables students to build on their previous experience. “Before they can build on it they have to define it – define both what they have learned and how they learnt best” The VIA Portfolio model facilitates students’ in “diagnose their learning needs; formulate learning goals; identify human and material resources; choose and implement appropriate strategies and evaluate learning gains in a wide range of PBL related product skills and processes – both quantitative and qualitative. VIA’s Portfolio model enables students to document the development of their active participation in the practice of adult learning communities and of constructing identities in relation to these communities” VIA’s Portfolio model accelerates students progression through professional and personal development and from LOTS to HOTS - Lower to Higher Order thinking Skills. 1) Defining, profiling and accommodating Learning Diversity in an International PBL environment, Alcock and Blyt - 2010

15. Examples • L2L Learning to learn -1st and 2nd semester • Web-based Portfolio 3rd -7th semesters • Cristinas - example of L2L 2nd sem Portfolio • Cristinas portfolio • Sirjes - example of 4th sem ‘Professional Student’Sirjes portfolio