Problem-BasedLearning (PBL)

Belle Tuten & Dan DriesSoTL Brown Bag, April 30, 2014

“Tell me, and I will forget.Show me, and I may remember.Involve me, and I will understand.”Chinese proverb

How Did We Get Into PBLas a Pedagogy?

What good is knowledgewithout curiosity?

Problem-Based Learning (PBL):Rekindling Curiosity

“Just because you covered it doesn’t mean you uncovered it.” – Hal White, Univ. of Delaware

Exemplary Contributions toEducation Award Lecture2014 ASBMB National Meeting

Problem-Based Learning (PBL):Rekindling Curiosity

Glass of water with ice cube in it. As the ice cube melts, what will happen to the water level?

•Rise?•Stay the same?•Fall?

Problem-Based Learning (PBL):Rekindling CuriosityNo textbookUses the primary literature•Authentic, not contrived•Historical•Complex•Relevant•Requires/develops creative library/internet search skills

“On the Reduction and Oxidation of the Colouring Matter of the Blood.” G. G. Stokes

Some time ago my attention was called to a paper by Professor Hoppe, in which he has pointed out the remarkable spectrum produced by the absorption of light by a very dilute solution of blood, and applied the observation to elucidate the chemical nature of the colouring matter… I proceeded to try the effect of various reagents. The observation is perfectly simple, since nothing more is required than to place the solution to be tried, which may be contained in a test-tube, behind a slit, and view it through a prism applied to the eye. In this way it is easy to verify Hoppe's statement, that the colouring matter (as may be presumed at least from the retention of its peculiar spectrum) is unaffected by alkaline carbonates and caustic ammonia, but is almost immediately decomposed by acids, and also, but more slowly, by caustic fixed alkalies, the coloured product of decomposition being the hæmatin of Lecanu, which is easily identified by its peculiar spectra. But it seemed to me to be a point of special interest to inquire whether we could imitate the change of colour of arterial into that of venous blood, on the supposition that it arises from reduction.

-Proc. of the Royal Society, London 13, 355-364 (1864)

PBL: Example #1-Dan• Spring 2015: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) I• Sophomore• Enrollment ~70• Two sections?: PBL vs. traditional lecture

• Curare• Pilot: BMB III in Fall 2014

PBL: Example #2-Belle• See linked examples of work and the PBL packet Belle used for Medieval Medicine on the SoTL website

PBL: Pros and ConsAdvantages

• Transferable skills

• Deconstructing primary literature

• Encourages ownership of education

• Retention of material

• Flexible curriculum

• Group work

• Different learning styles, viewpoints, strengths

• Keeps instructor engaged with current material

• Can interface with guest lecturer(s)

Disadvantages

• Content

• Lack of breadth

• Less structure

• Pace

• Requires self-motivation

• Group work

• Requires clear learning objectives

• Requires careful choice of primary literature to maximize coverage

PBL: Sample First moduleDay 1: POGIL to prepare reading articleDay 2: Demonstration – ask for questions/

learning issuesScan article, then revisit and write learning issuesDay 3: Discuss, assign learning issuesDay 4: Debrief, revisit, re-examine learning

issuesIndividual writing assignment distributed

PBL: Sample First moduleDay 5: Individual assignment due.

Debrief, revisit, re-examine learningissues

Day 6: Demo or POGIL activity (interface withinstructor-generated learning issues)

Day 7: In-class discussion of article (recap ledby instructor)Group assignment: group answer toearlier individual assignment

Day 8: In-class quiz. Final discussion.

PBL: Sample Grading Scheme20% - Midterm*30% - Final (comprehensive)**Of which 25% comes from a group exercise.40% - Individual and group assignments

- 15% Individual writing assignment10% - Attendance, preparation, participation, attitude

- 5% self-evaluation- 5% group evaluation

PBL: A Word about Group Work•Group composition•Peer tutor-facilitator (no hand in grading)•Random? Instructor-selected? Self-selected?

•Rules, contracts, and autonomy• Instructor intervention•Roles: Recorder, Task Master, Skeptic, Technical Advisor, Fact-Finder•Assessment: Individual vs. Group

Resources• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) at the University of Del

aware (includes sample syllabi and problems, evaluation forms, videos)• CHEM-342:

Introductory Biochemistry (Hal White, Univ. of Delaware)• Duch, Barbara J., et al. The Power of Problem-Based

Learning: A Practical ‘How To’ for Teaching Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2001. Print.

• Dan Tries PBL (A 1996 case study of an anthropology professor trying to incorporate PBL into his class. Disclaimer: different Dan!)

• Qualitative assessment on the incorporation of PBL into the UD curriculum

• Belle maintains a Zotero group with literature on PBL. Please email Belle for an invitation.