Post on 29-Dec-2015
Problem Based Learning (PBL)
Using Case Studies to
Teach Science
Jane Indorf, PhDDepartment of BiologyUniversity of Miami
PBL: A Cooperative Learning Environment
Cooperative Learning = group members work together to accomplish shared goals
Instead of: Collaborative Learning Competitive Learning Individualistic Learning
Cooperative Behavior in the Classroom
Discourages Encourages
Eyes on own paper See what peers are doing
No talking Students talk among each other
Work done individually Students share work with others
Student asks teacher for help
Student asks group mates for help
Competition for teacher’s attention
Each student has opportunity to be be spokesperson
Competition for extrinsic awards (e.g. grades)
Cooperate for both intrinsic and extrinsic awards
5 Elements of Cooperative Learning
1.Positive Interdependence
2.Promotive Interaction
3.Individual and Group Accountability
4.Interpersonal skills
5.Group Processing
1. Positive interdependence must exist among group members
“… linking students together so one cannot succeed unless all group members succeed. Group members have to know that they sink or swim together.” (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1998, p. 4:7).
Students need to share resources, fulfill different roles, and complete different tasks to achieve group’s goal.
2. Teacher encourages face-to-face promotive interaction
Class culture of encouragement, help, and sharing
Explaining and elaborating maximizes student achievement, knowledge retention, and higher level reasoning
Personal relationships are built and maintained
Group discussion can be “window into students’ minds”.
3. Teacher requires both individual and group
accountability Students are assessed individually
Guarantees that students take responsibility for their share of the group work.
Team members are responsible for work of their teammates.
Students hold each other accountable for their share of the work.
4. Students use and learn interpersonal skills
Students have to: Help each other to complete the group task Maintain positive working relationships
Social Skills: Listening Stating ideas clearly Accepting responsibility Giving constructive criticism Taking turns
5. Teacher uses group processing to improve the group’s future
effectiveness
Summarizing group members ideas and information
Encouraging members to participate in group discussion
Checking to ensure that decisions made by the group were supported by all members
What is PBL?
Student centered inquiry based learning
Case studies are used to motivate students Case study = real world problem or story with dilemma
Students find/create solution
Group work – investigate and analyze problem
Skills developed: Critical thinking, analysis, written & oral communication, logic, decision-making
Teacher’s Role
Teacher as mentor, guide Selects or designs case study Asks questions Monitors group progress Debrief and review Authentic assessment
… students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills -- Jon Mueller
Student’s Role
Students as investigator Responsibility for their own learning Asks questions Identifies learning issues Questions sources Self reliant learner
A Good Case Study:
Controversial
Dialogue
Interesting characters
Dilemma to be solved
Contemporary
Real
Questions with right/wrong answers or open ended questions
Learning Objectives
Case Writing Process
1.Identify topic
2.Identify learning objectives
3.Research a “hook”; a current topic of interest, possible scenarios/stories that will cover learning objectives
4.Possible characters
5.Write draft
6.Identify issues likely to arise during discussion
7.Write questions which guide students to the issues and learning objectives
8.Plan how to manage case in classroom
9.Revise
Process of PBL
PBL Process – Part One
Data Questions
What do we already know?
What can the characters tell us?
Hypothesis Learning Issues
What do you think happened?
What do we still need to know?
PBL Process Part Two: Assessment
Student participation and contribution to group work
Kinds of issues they identify
Questions they develop
Investigations they propose
Where and how they locate resources
How students conduct investigations
Students’ presentations
Assessment – Student Observation
Are students: actively acquiring information about a science topic within this problem space?
re-organizing this information? using strategies to select resources beyond text materials?
using a problem-oriented approach? (Is there a question for investigation?)
collaborating with other individuals in problem posing or problem solving?
Teacher Reflection
How well does the activity work as a learning tool with your students?
Was the time allotted for exploration adequate?
Were the students able to generate questions that they could investigate?
Was the case: too vague? too difficult? too long? not challenging enough? other problems?
Classroom facilitation
Small group / two roving facilitators
Classroom facilitation
Large group / teacher as facilitator
Classroom facilitation
Small group / teacher as roving facilitator
Classroom facilitation
Small group / student groups self-facilitate / teacher as roving facilitator
Case Studies On the Internet
Emory University http://www.cse.emory.edu/cases/
University at Buffalo http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/
University of Delaware http://www.udel.edu/pbl
Bioquest http://bioquest.org/lifelines/
University of Wisconsin http://caseit.uwrf.edu/
Keep in Mind while writing a case study for PBL:
Learning objectives and outcomes
Methods of assessment
The level of students’ skills: how much do they know about the topic?
Amount of information to include
Use real-world problems and issues
Use narrative style