Proper Implementation of a Problem-Based Curriculum
Understanding
Problem-Based
Learning
Problem-Based
Learning Pyramid
Lesson Outline
Proper
Implementation
of aProblem
-Based curriculum
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) consists of many complex layers that in essence come together to form both a unique and rich method of teaching. When attempting to understand these layers, we must first understand the design of the content must be formulated in a way that students can conceptualize as well and internalize overarching ideas. Another vital element in constructing a lesson is the alignment of assessment within the context in addition to exploring ideas about formative and summative evaluation. Finally we will investigate the integration of community resources and how they can enhance real world authenticity. By obtaining thorough understanding of these elements and how they relate to a PBL curricula, one can tremendously promote comprehensive ties between content knowledge and real-world application.
When attempting to plan for a PBL lesson, we must keep in mind the central components of a PBL based curricula including; real-world application, higher order thinking, teacher as the facilitator, and student centered activities. One way to ensure that all of these factors are indeed included in the curricula, we can create a checklist. The checklist should begin with set goals that the entire lesson works towards achieving. Normally, these goals come from the state such as the Texas Essential of Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Once the goals have been established, research can then be done in order to create an issue related to the immediate world. A real world issue is vital to the lesson because it sets relevance to the lives of students which intern will authenticate real-world application.
The next section should be devoted to aiming towards higher order thinking. When viewing Bloom’s Taxonomy we see that there are six levels of intelligence. The first one is knowledge which involves memorization. Second is comprehension which allows students to understand and interpret information. Third is application which allows students to apply what they have learned to a specific situation. Fourth is analysis which allows students to make inferences. Fifth is synthesis which lets students give new meaning to the lesson. Finally, the sixth component is evaluation which gives students the ability to judge their own work ( Clark, 2001). The idea in PBL is to allow students to master one level and move on to the next ultimately achieving the last levels of synthesis and evaluation. The lesson should be challenging and should induce mind stimulation (i.e., compare, contrast, interpret, and justify).
The next two items on the list are the teacher as the facilitator and student centered activities. The teacher should be construed as the “metacognitive coach” (Nowak & Plucker, 1999), meaning, the teacher helps to guide students by providing questions that drive the students to self construction of the lesson (Greenwald, 2001). When the roll of students is inverted to essentially leading the learning, students begin to take ownership that eventually helps to master their learning of the content.
In order to assure that all the key components of a PBL curriculum have been met, the checklist can be satisfied by answering the following questions:
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After planning a PBL lesson, we must then look at how assessment should be done in order to allow proper alignment with PBL. One of the most often misapprehended practices of PBL is the tendency to forgo consistency throughout the lesson. For example, if students are working on a project that involves research on the dangers of building a middle school on the hillside of an awaking volcano, the final assessment should not be in the form of a multiple choice/fill in the blank exam. The reason for this is that since PBL is based on real-world application and the lesson follows through with this idea, the final assessment should follow as well. “Many teachers who enthusiastically embrace PBL decide to start…[by] only implementing PBL principles in part of their teaching, rather than promote consistent student expectation by thoroughly implementing PBL both to instruction and assessment” (Nowak & Plucker, 1999).
One way to properly assess students based on the PBL curriculum is to take on the roll of a real-world facilitator or supervisor allowing for authenticity and relevance to the real-world. In the case of the volcano lesson, the teacher can act as the Head Volcanologist. As the Head Volcanologist, the teacher can evaluate the students’ progress, assist students by giving suggestions and ask questions just as in the real world of Volcanology. The assessment should be on going from the beginning. This type of evaluation is called formative evaluation, which “provides feedback in a timely manner so as to allow mid course correction” ( Clark, 2001). This eliminates final examination anxiety for the students and “allows for creativity,…fosters growth, inventiveness…and open-ended goals” (Nowak & Plucker, 1999).
Assessment should display “how well the students know the content, what their skill level is, and how well they applied skills and knowledge to their products” (Alexander, n.d.). Although ongoing assessment is an important element of the overall assessment, it is important to not dismiss the significance of a final assessment. This type of assessment is deemed summative evaluation, “which assesses the project in a final evaluation when the project is completed” (Moursund, 2005).
In the case of the volcano project, students are to have created a Power Point Presentation on their findings and essentially persuade the officials to either build the school on the hillside or not. Students should also have safety precautions set fourth. All of these elements can be put into a rubric and can be utilized a checklist of components that the project should include. Rubrics enable students to gain understanding of expectations for the final project and set the guidelines. These guidelines however, should be loosely bound in order to leave room for creativity and ownership. The Rubric can also outline the students’ overall level of cognitive achievement. Morsund has come up with chart displaying the different levels of achievement:
Level |
Brief Description |
| 1: Emergent | Student displays few, if any, of the rudimentary knowledge and skills that are expected. |
| 2: Limited | Student displays rudimentary knowledge and skills, but often requires substantial individual help and guidance. |
| 3: Developing | Student displays a minimally adequate level of the expected knowledge and skills. |
| 4: Capable | Student displays a functional, adequate level of the expected knowledge and skills. |
| 5: Strong | Student displays a high level of the expected knowledge and skills. |
| 6: Exceptional | Student displays an outstanding and creative/innovative level of the expected knowledge and skills. |
Morsund suggests that rather than issuing letter grades, the teacher should rate the level of cognitive achievement according to the rubric in order to allow proper alignment with the PBL curriculum. In the evaluation of the volcano project, the teacher should distinguish whether the students fully comprehended the issues involved with building a school at the hillside of the volcano. Issues such as mudslides and how they work and can destruct the school. This level of achievement would classify as a five or six on the rubric. A one or two would display a basic understanding with no depth.
Desired Community Role within the PBL
The last aspect of a thorough PBL lesson is the consideration of integrating community resources. In the case of the volcano project, the teacher could perhaps bring in an actual Volcanologist to talk to students about the dangers of building a middle school on the hillside of a volcano. Another community resource could include an architect that will discuss what goes into building a school and the possible risks the volcano can cause. Finally, having a person whom has actually experienced the devastation of a volcano could discuss with students the physiological and psychological aspects.
By having the Volcanologist, architect, and person whom experienced it first hand participate in a class discussion, students will gain a feeling of real-world application to the subject matter. It will give the issue importance and relevance. This activity will undoubtedly stick in the minds of students for years to come. Moreover, another way that the community resource can contribute to the lesson can be to assist in the final evaluation. The volcanologist can contribute to the assessment by judging the students on how well they grasped and presented the information. This will drive the students further because they will know that a professional in the field will contribute to their assessment.
To properly implement a PBL based curriculum into the classroom, the teacher should be able to correctly design the lesson. The design should embrace and thoughtfully reflect the PBL design by implementing real-world application, higher order thinking, teacher as the facilitator, and student centered activities. After all the components of a PBL lesson have been applied, the teacher should then align assessment in order to satisfy the PBL design. The teacher should be careful not to fall into the unfortunate misalignment of assessing students with the traditional method including multiple choice and true/false questions. Furthermore, utilizing a rubric can set students up for success because they will understand what is expected of them from the beginning. The teacher should implement formative and summative evaluation in order to fully assess students in a fair and valid manner.
Finally, the incorporation of a community resource can elevate the lesson from a mundane traditional method of teaching to a more PBL type lesson. By including the community in the project, students are given the advantage of connecting content to the real world application which gives the lesson relevance. By understanding the vital elements that support the Problem-Based Lesson curriculum, the teacher can ultimately make a cognitive impression in the learning outcome of students. PBL curriculum properly implemented will promote comprehensive ties between content knowledge and real-world application. The information learned in the activity will have lasting effects on the student as well as thorough comprehension of the subject matter.
Resources:
Alexander, Kathy, Teri Faherty & Jan Svoboda. (n.d.), NVUSD Project Based Learning.
Retrieved July 15, 2005 from,
http://www.nverp.nvusd.k12.ca.us/curriculum/Kathys/planningassess.htm.
Clark, Donald. (2001), Learning Domains or Bloom's Taxonomy, The Three Types of Learning.
Retrieved July 14, 2005 from, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html.
Greenwald, Nina. (2001), Problem-Based Learning in Science, Ill-defined encounters are the
right kind (guiding problem-based learning in science classrooms), Retrieve July
15, 2005 from,http://www.cct.umb.edu/pblscience.html.
Morsund, David. (2005), ICT-Assisted Project-Based Learning, Part 7 Assessment, Retrieved
July 13, 2005 from, http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~moursund/PBL/index.htm.
Nowak, Jeffery A. & Jonathan A. Plucker. (1999), Assessment in Problem-Based Learning, Do
as I Say, Not as I Do, Student Assessment in Problem-Based Learning. Retrieved
July 15, 2005 from, http://www.indiana.edu/~legobots/q515/pbl.html.
Last Updated
July 20, 2005
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