PBL in Engineering and Science – Development of Supervisor Skills
Session 1: PBL – Why? And What?
Mona DahmsDept. of Develoment and Planning
Session 1: PBL – Why? And What?1) Why PBL?
• Competence profile 2) A short break3) What is PBL?
• Concept mapping, incl. scouting • ”Teaching teaching and understanding
understanding” – a video film about learning • Learning theories and PBL principles
4) Summing up on Why? And What?
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Session 1: Learning outcomesAfter this session you should be able to • Identify and discuss competences required
by engineering graduate employers versus taught at universities
• Explain the learning theories underlying PBL (social constructivism; Kolb’s learning cycle; Dixon’s learning cycles; Wenger’s Communities of Practice)
• Classify the main categories of PBL principles and list at least three principles in each category
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1. Why PBL?
a) Competence profile
Competence profile of a new development engineer
You are working in the research and development department of a large international engineering company.
The Human Resources manager calls you – he is busy writing a job advertisement for a new development engineer for the company.
He asks for your input to the advertisement in the form of keywords specifying required competences of your new colleague.
Which keywords do you give to him?5
Activities in this task• Individually, write down the 3 – 5 most
important key words, describing your new colleague (3 min)
• In groups of 2, discuss and write down the 5 most important key words (5 min)
• In groups of 4, write down the 5 most important key words (7 min)
• Please be prepared to provide key words in plenary (10 min)
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Competence profile – summing upA few questions to reflect on:
Q1: To which extent are the required competences taught at
university?
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Competences taught at universitiesand required by industry - Germany
Ref: Becker, 2006
Competence profile – summing up
A few questions to reflect on:
Q1: To which extent are the required competences taught at
university?Q2: Which competences are the
most important?
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Important competences ranked by young German engineers
Ref: Becker, 2006
Competence profile – summing upA few questions to reflect on:
Q1: To which extent are the required competences taught at
university?Q2: Which competences are the
most important?Q2: To which extent can the required
competences be taught at university?
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Danish Industry on Competences of Young
Engineers
Survey among employers 2002
One respondent in the survey said:
– “The ones [i.e. the candidates] coming from, for example, Aalborg University, go in and work in projects from the start.”
Kandidat 2002, p. 33 13
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Is there a need for changes in engineering and science education?
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Break15
minutes
2. What is PBL?
a) Concept mapping and scoutingb) “Teaching teaching and
understanding understanding” – a video film
c) Learning theories and PBL Principles
What is PBL? Concept mapping• For some of you this exercise will be dead
easy because you have been students in AAU
• For others it will be more difficult because you will have to rely upon what you believe, have observed or been told
• Join hands and put together a concept map of what to you are the main characteristics of PBL
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Concept mapping – an example • Social dimension• Content dimension• Learning dimension
• Why• What• How• Who• When• Where
Concept map: cmap.ihmc.us18
Tasks in this activity - 1• In groups of 5 - 6, place the poster sheet
in the middel of the table • Write the focus question, i.e. ”What is
PBL?”• Write the two main concepts, i.e.
Problem(based) and Learning • Add concepts (nouns) that come to mind• Add relations = linking phrases between
concepts, non-, uni- or bidirectional as the case may be
• Use the 6 question stubs What? Why? How? Where? When? and Who? to aid your thinking
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Tasks in this activity - 2• If you feel uneasy about writing directly on
the poster, use Post-It’s and later transfer the words from Post-It’s to the poster
• Scouting: Take time to walk around and see and listen to what happens in the other groups in the room – ask questions if necessary – and pick what you find useful and bring it back to your own group
• When finished, please place your poster on the wall
• You have 30 minutes for this exercise 20
Groups for the group exerciseGruppe 1 Group 4
Dalia Kaulakiene Martin Hundebøll
Line Røseth Karlsen Søren Henrik Adam
Kristian Bohnstedt Fang Wang
Wei Fan Lorenza Di Pilla
Alireza Rezaniakolaei Martin Leginus
Giang Phuong Nguyen Prateek Mathur
Group 2 Group 5
Michael Madsen Qobad Shafiee
Steffen Nielsen Chayapol Kamyod
Sonia Fu Pil Seok Kwon
Swati Prasad Simone Riis
Quang Vinh Dang Alexandru Tatomirescu
Priscila de Brito Silva
Group 3
Niels Terp Kjeldgaard Jørgensen
Bente Nørgaard
Huai Wang
German Corrales Madueno
Reza A. Kordkheili
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It’s all about learning!• The video film ”Teaching teaching and
understanding understanding” lasts app. 20 min.
• It can be watched in three sessions on YouTube – simply by Googling the title
• Follow-up to the video film – comments and questions?
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Learning theories and PBL principles
The video film describes, among others, the fundamental learning theory underlying PBL:
Social constructivism
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Learning theories - 1
Based on a social constructivist perception of learning and teaching:• Learning is the student’s individual
process of constructing knowledge and meaning, based on information inputs from many different sources and in social interaction with others (peers, teachers, experts etc.)
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Learning theories - 1
Social constructivism:
Knowledge is constructed by the students in social interaction with others
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Is thislearning?
Yes, it’s actually true – you can get a
degree by repeating
everything the teacher says.
The psychological mistake in learning: ”We pretend that there is co-incidence between what is being taught and what is being learned” (Ref: Knud Illeriis, 1998)
Learning as a circle – experiential learning
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Test
Generalisation
Reflection
Experience
Ref: Kolb 1984
”Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the trans-formation of ex-periences” (Kolb)
Learning as a spiral - experiential learning
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Reflection
Time
for in on learning
1. projekt 3. projekt
2. process analysis
1. process analysis
3. process analysis
Ref: Cowan 1998
2. projekt
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From
lowe
r to
high
er
orde
r th
inki
ng sk
ills
Learning as a hierarchy – measuring learning
Ref: Bloom 1956Picture: ww2.odu.edu
Peer learningPeer learning takes place in the ‘zone of proximal development’ which is …. “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotskij 1978)
30Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org
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Learning as a double circle – individual and collective learning
Ref: Kolb 1984;Dixon 1999
Collective learning is based on ….
individual learning
Learning in a Community of Practice “Learning is a function of the activity, context, and culture in which it normally occurs, thus it is situated” (Ref: Lave & Wenger 1991)
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More on Wenger’s CoP theory here: www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm
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Collaborative learning in Communitiesof PracticeLearning as: Legitimate peripheral participation in Communities of Practice
Learning Theories - 2Based on a social constructivist
perception of learning and teaching:• Learning is the student’s individual
process of constructing knowledge and meaning
• Teaching is the ”setting up of a situation from which a motivated learner cannot escape without having learned” (Cowan) – teaching is not (only) lecturing !!! 34
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Is this teaching?
With thanks to Karl Smith, UMN
“Teaching does not mean transferring knowledge but creating opportunities for …producing and constructing it.” (Paulo Freire)
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Paulo Freire (1921-1997)
“Education is a way of intervening in the world”
Freirian Critical Pedagogy is similar to PBL in most aspects
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Efficiency of teaching methods
5 %LectureReading
AudiovisualDemonstratio
nDiscussion groupPractice
Teaching others
Averageretention
20 %30 %50 %75 %80 %
10 %
Note the bottom one – this is peer teaching/learning!
PBL Learning Principles – 3 Dimensions
Cognitive dimension:• Problem based• Contextualised• Action oriented• Experience based• (Project organised)
Ref: de Graff and Kolmos 2003 38
PBL Learning Principles – 3 Dimensions
Content dimension:• Interdisciplinary• Exemplary• Theory – practice relation• Critical
Ref: de Graff and Kolmos 2003 39
PBL Learning Principles – 3 Dimensions
Collaborative dimension:• Participant directed• Team organised• Dialogic• Democratic
Ref: de Graff and Kolmos 2003 40
What is PBL?
”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, p. 232; emphasis added)
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What is PBL?
“…. 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; emphasis added)
Ref: Savin-Baden, 2003; emphasis added 42
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
Ref: de Graff and Kolmos 2003 43
Conclusion – so - What is this PBL? • Based on the learning theory and the
fundamental learning principles PBL can be implemented in many different ways
• Thus, PBL is not a certain prescribed teaching and learning method
• There is no ‘right’ or ‘best’ PBL approach – each university has (to develop) its own PBL model
• In the next session you will learn about the Aalborg model of PBL
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Summing up on Why? And What? –Any comments or
questions