W2
Problem Based Learning (PBL)/ Inquiry Based Learning
Taisir Subhi Yamin
Durham University, England
Originally, PBL has been developed at Universities (medical studies). Meanwhile, PBL is used as a new approach to teaching in different disciplines. One of the main reasons is to prevent that students only acquire such kind of knowledge and skills that are only used for examinations. This kind of knowledge is called “inert”, because it will not be used and applied for decisions and the solution of problems outside of the examination and university (school) context. Other objectives that may be better attained by PBL than by any other instructional approaches are: Higher motivation of the students, general problem solving skills, self-regulatory skills, and improved collaboration or communication skills. All these competencies are required for being successful in a profession or even, more generally, in life. What is PBL? What is IBL? What are some of the main features of PBL and IBL as an instructional approach? One of the most important features is that students have to be much more (cognitively) active in order for acquiring knowledge. They have to find out what they do not know, and which information has be actively searched (e.g., by formulation clear intentions and questions focusing on what to learn). At the same time, the role of teachers change to being a tutor that helps the students in pursuing their learning intentions (e.g., by providing the needed information sources, like textbooks or even lectures). To stimulate students to be active in these ways, one of the most important component of PBL has to be designed by the teacher/ tutor. This component are ill-defined problems that initiate student’s learning activities in terms of more precisely defining the problem, and actively searching for solutions. These processes are organized in teams or groups. Structuring the learning environment more cooperatively or collaboratively is another main feature of PBL and IBL.