Creativity requires the freedom to consider 'unthinkable' alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices. (John W. Gardner, author)

Most people recall their high school and undergraduate education in fragments. Atoms possess a property called valency. Y = mx + b. Great Britain has no constitution, but is a constitutional monarchy. Many students have trouble using such discrete, disembodied facts. Yet most people define "education" as the delivery and storage of such "facts" and think of lectures as the most efficient form of delivery. However, how many of us can accurately and concisely explain how blood courses through the body? How changes in interest rates affect stock market indicators or currency exchange rates? And how does a bill move through Congress?

In recent years many advocates have encouraged, implored, and demanded changes in the purposes, character, quality, and content of public education at all levels. A teaching method called active learning addresses many such concerns, promising several advantages to teacher and student. This paper introduces a version of active learning called problem-based learning (PBL). Each section below answers a specific question about PBL. I argue that several factors currently press for reforms in teaching and curricula and that PBL is a pedagogically sound, scholastically beneficial, and socially desirable response. I hold that many teachers will find PBL a valuable augment to current teaching practices. I describe the character and mechanics of PBL, offer illustrations, and conclude by discussing implementation. The paper contributes a primer on PBL techniques and resources.

The most important method of education always has consisted of that in whch the pupil was urged to actual performance. (Albert Einstein, "On Education")

Several factors are reshaping the educational environment and compelling teachers to reconsider how and what to teach. Business is restructuring. Government is trying to restructure. Our economy and culture are in flux. As the former U.S. Secretary of Labor wrote, "Why should schools and their curricula [and their teaching techniques] remain unchanged during this revolution in every other aspect of our lives?" (Martin, 1991:A21).

Government officials, taxpayers, parents, and business leaders are demanding curricular and administrative reform to relieve pressures arising from budget woes, competing public desires, a rapidly changing workplace and marketplace, and declining student achievement on social science subjects ranging from geography and history to civics and world affairs (Diamond, 1997). Many communities and educators want teachers to address violence, poverty, inequalities, and intolerance in schools and society (e.g., Sleeter and Grant, 1994, ch. 6). Community leaders and business leaders want schools to foster skills that students can take to their future careers. Indeed, business communities in several states and Canadian provinces are founding and funding alliances between state governments, business, and industry (Wilmington [DE] News Journal, March 17, 1996: BZ17-18). Business executives and government officials want schools to improve students' skills in order to reduce welfare burdens and to improve individuals' ability to contribute productively to the national economy and corporate competitiveness (US Secretary of Labor, Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills [SCANS], 1991).

In 1991, SCANS released a report entitled "What Work Requires of Schools", declaring that successful careers in the current economy require that schools develop in students five competencies and three sets of foundational skills (see yellow paper, Attachments 1 and 2). From these demands also arise the need to develop in students a revised core of knowledge, greater tolerance and understanding of diverse cultures, and higher-order thinking skills. To meet these challenges, teachers may choose to shift the classroom focus from teaching to learning, to better motivate students to learn, and to conduct classes to suit better how students learn. PBL addresses many of these needs.

Six sets of criteria offer reasons for considering PBL as an augment to one's standard teaching repertoire.

1. From teachers: Many students retain information and concepts better using PBL than using other teaching methods because PBL employs an integrated set of teaching techniques. These techniques embody the basic premise of PBL: many students will better learn information if they need to use it, and they will better see the need to use it as they try to solve specific problems. The PBL approach encourages students to learn in a hands-on style in the context of a problem, to use immediately the knowledge they discover, to apply the information, and to teach or explain to others (see Attachment 3). With these techniques, especially in combination, students retain dramatically more information.

2. From students, educational psychology: PBL is a form of "active learning", which educational research demonstrates is the most effective technique for students to learn, apply, integrate, and retain information (e.g., Bonwell and Eison, 1991). Many students also prefer to learn in this active style.

For example, results from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator reveal that in a typical classroom, over 70% of the students are most excited by the external phenomena of people, events, and experiences rather than the internal world of ideas and concepts. Externally-oriented students learn most comfortably by devoting their energy and attention outwardly toward experiences, interactions, and talking. These students learn best by acting and discussing, then generalizing from the specific situation to broader conceptual or theoretical themes. While many courses contain some "active" activities, most courses do not emphasize them, thus skewing the learning experience away from active learners. Conversely, internally-oriented students learn best by directing their energy inwardly toward thinking, feeling, reflecting, and writing. These reflective students, comprising about 30% of the general and student population, learn best by doing what we typically call "studying" -- that is, by mentally pondering and rehearsing specific material. These are the activities and skills emphasized in most courses.

Relatedly, a different 70% of the students in a typical classroom prefer to receive information through the senses, by observing and participating in activities, by mastering step-by-step sequences, and by focusing on real or actual situations. These students prefer to focus on practical applications and concrete details. In contrast, only about 30% of students effectively think in abstract or theoretical ways that enable them to see "the big picture", imagine possibilities, or trace future prospects. Students that prefer abstract thought more comfortably acquire information in terms of large patterns, trends and trajectories, alternative possibilities, or relationships and connections among facts.

Table 1 below indicates the distribution of learning styles. The matrix assumes that active/passive learning and concrete/abstract learning are independent conditions. Psychological studies do not clarify the relationship since correlations may be socially-learned.

	AL Active Learners (70% of population)	PL Passive Learners (30% of population)
CS Concrete-Sequential learners (70%)	49% of pop. (.7 x .7 = .49)	21% (.3 x .7 = .21)
AP Abstract-Pattern learners (30%)	21% (.7 x .3 = .21)	9% (.3 x .3 = .09)

Teachers, however, are different. A sample of University of Delaware faculty from all departments confirms more general national studies: over 54% of university teachers are disposed to learn, thus teach, in a manner that emphasizes inward reflection and requires students to complete solitary reading, writing, and contemplation assignments. Similarly, over 63% of university teachers prefer to learn and teach in terms of big picture abstractions and theoretical frameworks. Thus, as Table 2 below reveals, the PL-AP teaching strategy of the majority of university teachers meets the preferences (needs?) of 9% of students assuming independent variables (and no more than 30% of students, assuming complete congruence of variables). Conversely, a mere 17% of teachers teach in a style that corresponds to the preferences or needs of 49% of the student population (Myers, 1993:4-7; Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 1993).

	AL Active Learners (46% of population of university teachers)	PL Passive Learners (30% of population of university teachers)
CS Concrete-Sequential learners (37% of univ teaching pop.)	17% of university teaching pop. (.46 x .37 = .17)	20% of university teaching pop. (.54 x .37 = .20)
AP Abstract-Pattern learners (63% of univ teaching pop.)	29% (.46 x .63 = .29)	54% (.54 x .63 = .54)

3. From cognitive development: PBL moves students from the brute collection and comprehension of facts to application, analysis, and evaluation. These are the highest levels of cognitive development as indicated by Bloom's (1956) taxonomy, a standard classification in educational development (see Attachment 4).

4. From intellectual development: PBL moves students from crudely dualistic and idiosyncratically subjective notions of knowledge into an appreciation of knowledge and decision-making as contextually-relative. These are the highest levels of intellectual and ethical development, as indicated by Nelson's (1989) modification of Perry's (1970) work, another standard model in educational achievement (see Attachment 5; for a different treatment of intellectual development, see Belenky et. al, 1986).

5. From educational psychology, theories of learning: The PBL cycle of learning moves students through several stages of learning -- concrete experiencing, reflective observing, abstract conceiving, and active experimenting -- as advanced by the Kolb (1984) model of experiential learning. Further, PBL's student-centered format moves students from passive recipients of knowledge to active learners and participants (see Attachments 6a, 6b, 6c).

6. Business, government, parents, society: PBL meets the express goals of business, government, and parents by developing in students basic competencies and skills that will improve their competitiveness in the workplace (see again Attachment 2). When involved with PBL, or active learning more generally, students also develop personal qualities of discipline, tolerance, and creativity, as well as the socially desirable qualities of working with others, compromise, teamwork, leadership, organization, and cooperation.

As one teacher reported to the Wall Street Journal, active learning in the classroom is not a welter of noise and formless chaos. Instead, active learning shifts classroom activities from teaching to learning; helps students learn in their preferred sequence from concrete to abstract; helps students structure and organize information in the ways most appropriate for them; affords students more and better feedback from teacher and peers; sets high expectations; enhances student confidence and willingness because they can see and feel their progress, thus students learn by doing (Keck, March 4, 1997:A19). Indeed, in this teacher's judgment, her students learn better to think critically, ask questions, collect and evaluate information, analyze, communicate, work logically, construct logical arguments, work cooperatively, negotiate, and compromise.

PBL does not require complete or fundamental change in one's teaching strategy. PBL can become an effective augment to current techniques and preferences. Indeed, PBL activities may spark excitement and interest in your active learners without confounding reflective learners. By combining PBL with traditional writing and testing assignments, all students acquire a "fuller" learning experience. Thus, each student participates in a set of activities that, as a whole, challenge and build upon her/his skills and preferences.

The next section explores the character and mechanics of the PBL approach.

It is the whole business of a university teacher to induce people to think. (J.B.S. Haldane, 1923)

PBL is a teaching approach that requires students to take responsibility for their learning by placing them in groups to confront problems given to them by the teacher, who facilitates their explorations and efforts. As students engage the problem they identify basic principles and concepts, develop a core stock of knowledge, integrate and organize their knowledge, develop critical thinking and other skills, and learn to learn. Four elements are central to PBL.

1. Problems Organize the Learning Environment

Students are presented with a problem or scenario: e.g., legal dispute, policy proposal, ethical dilemma, puzzling conditions. Such problems may appear in a written case, a video clip, a journal article, an editorial, a vignette, or any other workable vehicle. Students will not possess enough prior information to immediately solve well-devised problems based on concrete, open-ended situations. Indeed, information necessary to devise a solution is not provided in the problem; students must identify, locate, and use appropriate resources. A problem may be as simple as a question: for example, why did the US government send John Demjanjuk to Israel to stand trial? (See attached problem on green paper). Such problems challenge students by providing a relevant motivation for learning. They ask "what do we need to know?" instead of "why do we need to know this?" Such questions, called "learning issues", help students realize what knowledge they require, thus focusing their learning efforts and establishing a means for integrating the information they acquire.

2. Much Learning Occurs in Groups

Organized into groups of 4-8 students (4-5 is optimal), the students embark on a cycle of learning. Analysis, research, and reporting are three important stages, with discussion and feedback from peers and teacher at each stage. Students' initial analysis involves assuring that everyone in the group understands the basic concepts, characterizing the nature and scope of the problem, and arranging information into three categories:

After listing what is known -- whether from the problem, previous knowledge, or personal experience -- the group members should devise a specific statement of the problem. This statement may be based on discrepancies in data, incongruous events, anomalous conditions, or the needs of clients, constituents, or policymakers. The category "should be done?" helps students assign responsibilities for research (the next stage of the cycle). For example, students will know that Demjanjuk was extradited to Israel. They will likely decide they need to define "extradition" and "deportation". They will also initially need to know what Demjanjuk is accused of doing, so will also need to define "war crimes". In this stage students shape the problem in their terms by dividing the tasks and delegating to group members the responsibility for researching needed information. This stage also elicits and activates students' existing knowledge, a crucial step in learning new information (Gijselaers, 1996:18).

In the subsequent research stage, students collect necessary information on specific learning issues raised by the group. Students may conduct library searches, seek sources on the Internet, collect data, and/or interview knowledgeable authorities. Students teach themselves, thereby becoming responsible for their learning, as they research their learning issues. Further, they come to see the complexity and texture of the problem and, perhaps most important, may realize that information is not an end in itself. Rather, information is a means to the ends of managing problems competently.

Last, students report their findings to the group. At this moment individual students become "experts" and teach each other. For example, the student assigned to master the concepts "extradition" and "deportation" becomes responsible for explaining (teaching) the terms to other group members, who listen and question the expert until they understand. A student might reasonably ask, for example: how can Israeli officials request extradition if Israel did not exist as a government when the alleged crimes occurred?

Depending upon the scope and purposes of the problem, subsequent discussion may generate a possible solution or new learning issues may arise for the group to explore. Final solutions are reported to other students, to the class as a whole, and/or to the teacher. At this stage, the teacher's feedback addresses whether the original learning issues were resolved and whether the students' understanding of the basic principles, information, and relationships is sufficiently deep and accurate.

As groups form conclusions, it is important for the teacher to make clear that the purpose of the problem is primarily to contextualize learning and knowledge. Attention must be paid to both the specific case and to the general issues raised. To this end I occasionally introduce a course entitled International Organization with the Demjanjuk case, which illustrates international law, international organizations, and the system of states as patterns organizing global relations.

The use of cooperative groups helps foster learning communities of students. Research studies clearly show that student achievement improves when students work in cooperative groups (e.g., Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991). Also, this format improves the achievement and affective impressions of women, minorities, and others who are frustrated or repelled by the competitiveness and academic isolation fostered by typical university courses (e.g., Tobias, 1990). Further, group work helps students develop verbal and writing skills, teamwork, compromise, and critical skills (Duch and Norton, 1992; Wingspread Conference, 1994; Allen, Duch, and Groh, 1996:44).

3. Teachers Act as Guides or Facilitators

Teachers using PBL must yield some of their "traditional authority". Instead, teachers become facilitators who guide students' learning, probe their reasoning, and encourage them to become active and responsible learners. The occasions for "teaching" remain plentiful. The means change as teachers organize the learning objectives, problems, and questions, and pilot the learning cycle, then teach skills within that format. The teachers move among active groups, directing their discussions and energies when apt. Rather than lecture information or manage behavior, teachers cultivate skills, focus effort, foster resourcefulness, and maintain an interactive climate of learning. In the PBL format, teachers can integrate pedagogical devices as diverse as case studies (the problem), group work (student teams), problem-solving (vocational learning-by-doing), Socratic method (teacher interaction with groups), and class discussion (Burch, 1995).

However, in teaching relatively inexperienced learners, teachers may prefer (to retain enough authority and prominence) to structure and organize classroom activities to help students develop a framework for the knowledge they explore. Without such a framework and organization, "students may emerge from the course no better prepared to connect new knowledge to other applications or knowledge, or to distinguish the overriding principle from the trivial fact, than they would from a more traditional lecture course" (Allen, Duch, and Groh, 1996:45; also Coles, 1991). Conversely, such organization must not suffocate students, reintroduce traditional teacher-centered formats, or constrain the transition from passive to active teaching. The teacher must strike a balance between allowing students to direct their discussions and research and assuring that critical learning issues are raised and explored (Gijselaers, 1996:19; also Williams, 1992; Wilkerson, 1995).

For inexperienced learners, or for teachers who prefer to retain clear authority and control, interspersing mini-lectures or teacher-led discussion into the group-oriented PBL work can be effective. In such cases, the problems given to students should contain natural breaks at which the teacher can shift attention from the group to the instructor. At such breaks, the teacher may deliver critical information, lead a class discussion to clarify concepts or misconceptions, introduce the next stage of the problem, shift students' attention to a different skill (say, from application to evaluation or critique), or compare groups' progress. Between breaks -- that is, during normal group work -- the teacher moves among the groups, spending 5-10 minutes with each group in turn.

For groups analyzing a problem (initial stage of learning), facilitators should ask students questions to help them determine what is known, unknown, and needs knowing (as noted above). As group members return to analysis and discussion following research, teachers must avoid the impulse to tell students whether they are right or wrong or to provide any solution. Teachers must always decide how far to let groups wander, how long to let them explore blind alleys, before (or without) redirecting them. Teachers can help group members' develop skills that advance problem-solving by asking well-formed questions that model the types of questions that students should be asking, or that researchers or professionals in the field actually ask. Indeed, teachers can guide students to ask of themselves the kinds of questions that help to characterize the problem, identify required knowledge, and evaluate what they discover. Such questions should help students clarify basic information, focus their investigations, and refine their problem-solving strategies. For example, what standards did the Israeli government invoke when they requested Demjanjuk's extradition? How might an international lawyer, an international relations academic, and a policymaker differently explore the Demjanjuk case?

During final reporting (an end stage of the learning cycle), the teacher helps guide the students from the concrete case to the general themes, basic principles, and key concepts that infuse the problem. A teacher might use the Demjanjuk case to illustrate that international law is often devised to help states address the problems they confront, coordinate their affairs, and clarify basic values in the 'society of states'. Simultaneously, international law is entwined with the global patterns manifest by the state system and international organizations. Through illustration and example the facilitator teaches the students how to become experts by asking them to reflect on their own problem-solving behavior to reinforce the notion that acquiring knowledge is a means to a specific goal related to solving problems. For example, a teacher might ask: If you were an Israeli official, how would you argue for Israel's claim to jurisdiction over Demjanjuk's alleged crimes? How might a US judge decide that the Israeli claim was (or was not) well-grounded in the law?

To summarize, Wilkerson (1996:27-28; 1995) asserts that teachers can become most helpful as facilitators if they:

• balance directions to students with assistance to them,

• contribute knowledge and experience to students' research of the problem,

• stimulate a critical evaluation of ideas,

• translate knowledge and experience into terms readily understood by students,

• facilitate rather than deliver, observe rather than act, coach rather than command, offer constructive feedback rather than direction, challenge to excel rather than criticize shortcomings,

• create a pleasant learning environment by
  • encouraging diverse points of view, styles, preparation, and conclusions,

  • encouraging participation from all students, and

  • helping lower tensions in a combative group.

By the problems the teachers create and the questions they ask, they are always directing, but only indirectly. Of course, whether during a PBL problem or not, teachers may become fully directive as needs and preferences warrant.

4. Learning is Student-Centered

When teachers act as facilitators, PBL requires students to take responsibility for their learning. Students wrestle to identify the character of the problem, information they require, resources necessary to gather such information, possible solutions, and a final solution. Students then present their solution in some fashion to other students and/or teacher. For example, students could render a verdict on the Demjanjuk case in the role of Israeli Supreme Court judges by writing a brief or opinion, conducting a mock trial, holding debates, composing editorials, or other assignments. As students determine what will be learned and how, they become active participants in class and in their own learning. The problems encourage students to question, explore, explain, evaluate, and collaborate. In this format, students tailor their learning by pursuing individually the learning issues that interest them and by focusing (in the groups) on the areas they understand least. Indeed, one strategy is for an individual student to research the group learning issues that she or he understands least. The resulting learning is active, integrated, cumulative, and connected.

I find PBL especially effective in International Relations and Political Science courses because the "solutions" to IR or PS courses are indeterminant, unlike courses in the natural sciences where solutions tend to be more specific. Indeed, advancing and contesting proposed solutions is the "stuff" of IR and PS.

PBL can be used for a single class period, for a week, or for several weeks. It is effective for new students, for junior and seniors, and for graduate students. In large introductory courses (typically 80-110 students), I often form students into groups for a portion of a single period. Here the PBL format is much abbreviated. In junior and senior-level courses of 20-40 students, I have used PBL throughout the semester in two ways. In one course (typically 25 students), students engage a new problem each week and form different groups almost every day. In another course, students formed permanent groups and worked for six weeks in and out of class to prepare for a formal moot court presentation of a hypothetical problem. In graduate seminars I have formed weekly student-groups and have addressed a formal PBL problem two or three times per semester.

For the sake of discussion I draw subsequent examples from a junior-senior course I teach entitled Contemporary Problems in World Politics (see syllabus, Attachment 7). Rather than use formal case studies, I use films and brief novels to illustrate the contemporary problems of war and violence, human rights abuses, poverty and prosperity inequities, and cultural clash. In each source the main character is a young adult confronting a dilemma. Students explore what they might do in similar situations, then draw conclusions about the (in)direct global consequences of such choices.

I generally devote Mondays to orientation and general themes, Wednesdays to focused topics or problems, and Fridays to conclusions and comprehensive summaries. The same strategy is easily extended over two weeks, especially if groups identify several intriquing issues. On typical Mondays the entire class briefly discusses the assigned work, noting key characters, problems, and relationships. Once formed into groups, they attempt to create a "problem statement" that clarifies the problematic themes and issues. These statements focus their preparations for Wednesday's class. Or, I may identify a specific problem for them to discuss in the next class, often by selecting a brief quotation from the film or book, by comparing and contrasting situations from previous readings, or by drawing from current events or campus news.

For political science courses, problems that demand judgment and choice are especially effective. For example, in Imagining Argentina, Carlos decides whether to join the mothers protesting "the disappeareds" outside the Casa Rosada and how to confront the general he suspects of authorizing his wife's abduction. In Dawn, Elisha must decide whether to execute a captured British officer. In A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More must decide whether to compromise his principles and live comfortably or to risk his life by resisting King Henry's wishes. In one fascinating group of students, more than half the students would have compromised their principles to spare their lives, and exactly half would have executed the British officer to advance "the cause". Subsequent discussion about motives for and possible protests against Nazi genocide of Jews and others, "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia, and the Rwandan massacres was spirited because it was ground not merely in the historical events, but also in the students' vicarious experiences. A reading from Daniel Goldhagen's (1996) Hitler's Willing Executioners could be especially dramatic if assigned at this point.

In the case of the execution, I divided the class into two groups (executioners and abstainers) to debate the fate of the officer. Each group chose a speaker to express consensus views to the other group in a class debate. Come Friday, however, as the two spokespersons met at the center of the room, surrounded by their eager classmates anticipating a debate/duel to the figurative death, I switched their roles. Though initially stunned, it took only seconds (less than a minute each time) for the spokespersons to effectively and passionately argue the position exactly opposite the one they had prepared. Some students drew the conclusion that we can become prisoners of our own view of the world and how, given the opportunity and a reason, we can easily understand other views. If we fail to appreciate the point of view of others, then we are often reduced to violence. Other students, however, concluded that many people are fickle or easily convinced by argumentation, hence are "passive" citizens. Subsequent discussions of citizen's roles in the face of global problems was dynamic and reflective.

By decentralizing the classroom, students discover the latitude to explore ideas and express themselves. They also find they must engage others and confront ideas novel to them. Not every student will appreciate or take advantage of the opportunities, but they will fare no less well than in a conventionally organized course. Those who become engaged will shine because they can radiate their creativity. Rather than perform stock assignments, students can decide how to proceed and express themselves. These are essential skills in life, so why not emphasize them in the classroom? According to course ratings and end-of-semester comments, students enjoy and value the course and the experience (see course evaluation statistics, Attachment 8). For example:

"This course was very valuable for it allowed students to participate in lectures and discussion. I gained a lot of insight from other students' viewpoints. The course required a lot of independent discipline. ... I've grown." (Spring 1994)

"[The class] allowed students to work through the issues on their own rather than simply presenting conclusions to them." (Spring 1995)

"I enjoyed the assignments because they allowed me to 'experience' different perspectives rather than read about them." (Spring 1996)

"I really did learn a lot in the course, not only about World Politics, but also about interacting with people, making a point, and being receptive to other points of view." (Spring 1997)

Some students, however, may be frustrated, particularly those who are firmly dualistic thinkers who define "knowledge" as the collection of concrete right-or-wrong "facts". For example, one reported that "The course stimulated me to think, but many of the discussions were pointless [because they didn't reach firm conclusions], therefore I didn't feel the urge to participate. ... [T]his is probably one of the worst classes I have taken." Thoma (1993:134-135) amusingly addresses similar student resistance. Fortunately, research drawn from meta-evaluations of twenty years of PBL teaching conclude that "PBL has done no harm in terms of conventional tests of knowledge and that students may show better clinical problem-solving skills. They also show that students are stimulated and motivated by PBL as a method" (Albanese and Mitchell, 1993; Vernon and Blake, 1993; quotation in Barrows, 1996:10).

Other studies indicate that students who learn information in an active learning environment or in PBL style retain the information longer and more clearly and can recall the information more quickly and effectively because they have learned the material in context (Barrows, 1984; 1996:6). More specifically, the PBL students were able to locate their new information in a "semantic network" that structures the knowledge and associates it with related concepts and experiences (Bruer, 1993; Bruning, Schraw, and Ronning, 1995; Gijselaers, 1996:14). In this sense of semantic and cognitively structured knowledge, the foremost role of instruction is not (or, perhaps should not be) to convey information but to help and encourage students to develop the skills necessary to direct their own learning so that they can "construct" knowledge in ways that are effective for them (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1992).

The PBL technique is compatible with multimedia presentations, group work, case studies, debates, lectures, and other formats. If you decide to dive in, bear in mind that class size, class length, physical setting, and subject are factors. You will prefer to start with fewer than two dozen students with a class time of at least 50 minutes. A classroom with moveable chairs is helpful, but not essential.

To be clear: your initial preparation time will be longer than if you are preparing lectures. But the initial investment is less strenuous than devising a wholly new course and it amply rewards your efforts. From my experience, student anxieties and criticisms can be effectively addressed by reminding (informing?) them of the value of particular activities and formats, assuring them about the structure of the course and problems, offering the clearest possible expectations and directions, offering frequent encouragement, and providing routine feedback. Grading and assessment will also concern your students, so you will have to introduce them to peer evaluations, share occasional written feedback to individuals and groups, and devise appropriate assignments. Students generally react enthusiastically to interactive assignments such as debates, discussions, and Q&A sessions during which students field each other's questions. Many also favorably comment on reflective assignments such as journals. In recent semesters I've experimented by organizing students into pairs-of-pairs, for which one pair (A) presents to the other pair (B) two distinct points of view on an issue of A's choice. In the next class B presents to A. On each day, A and B evaluate each other using an evaluation form of my design (available from the author), but as modified by the students each semester.

Creating suitable problems is an obvious concern. Almost anything can be effective if it is controversial (not raucous), puzzling, non-trivial, and uncertain because there is no clearly "right" or "correct" solution. Such choices are especially effective if the groups will work on the problem for only minutes to days. If you plan longer and more complex problems to challenge students for several class sessions or several weeks, then the character of your questions, the mechanics of forming groups, attending to group dynamics, helping students establish group rules, and moderating group tensions become more prominent concerns.

If your central concern is to deliver content through the group problem-solving, then you will likely want to devise substantive or involved problems (to occupy students over several to many class sessions) and to form permanent groups. However, if you intend the group effort to convey substantive knowledge and to help students learn cognitive and social skills -- such as how to analyze and evaluate date, how to critique information, how to start and manage a group, how to work in teams, and how to resolve conflicts -- then you will likely want to rotate group memberships more frequently (at least once at midterm) and to devise more focused problems to engage students for one to three class sessions. In this case, you will likely deliver and connect much basic information in other formats, such as focused mini-lectures, wrap-up discussions, and such.

Forming groups is a crucial element in the success of PBL. Teachers may organize the groups randomly or may purposefully mix students by major, grade point average, year in school, interests, or other factors. In some courses, group membership changes often. If groups are permanent, then the members form their own ground rules (agreements or policies devised by the members for how the group will function), paying specific attention to attendance, assignment of tasks and responsibilities, punctual completion of tasks, resolution of conflicts, and consequences for those who violate rules. In large or permanent groups, equal participation may be assured by assigning (and rotating) roles such as organizer, recorder, reporter, questioner (a person who asks questions to assure accuracy and understanding or to play the "devil's advocate"), and so on.

An effective way to introduce yourself and your students to the process is to start small. Try giving your students a problem to work on for 10-15 minutes (if you have a large lecture course, give them a 5 minute problem). Use a simple catalyst -- like a magazine photo, an editorial, a political cartoon, or a hypothetical scenario -- to pose brief questions: What would you do and why? What principles are at work? What are the likely causes or consequences? How might Famous Person X react? There are no limits. Use their reactions to generate a class discussion, derive a classification scheme, unearth underlying principles, illustrate theoretical traditions, embody a deeper problem worthy of attention, exemplify complexity or variety, or sequé into your lecture. You and your students will find the results invigorating.

For Section II: Why use PBL or other teaching strategies?

Diamond, Robert M. (1997) "Broad Curriculum Reform is Needed if Students Are to Master Core Skills". Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1: B7.

Martin, Lynn. (1991) "Teaching Tomorrow's Skills: We need both basic and work-related education". Washington Post, July 22, 1991:A21.

Sleeter, Christine E. and Carl A Grant. (1994) Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender. 2nd. ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill, an imprint of Prentice-Hall.

Wilmington [DE] News Journal, "Skills versus liberal arts: educators are trying to do both", March 17, 1996: BZ17-18, in a special supplement entitled "Business '96: Education and the Workforce".

For Section III: Advantages of PBL?

Belenky, Mary F., et. al. (1986) Women's Ways of Knowing. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Bloom, B. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York, NY: McKay.

Bonwell, Charles, and J.A. Eison. (1991) Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom.

Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT), Inc. (1993) "Psychological Type in Education: A Summary of Information about Myers-Briggs Type Indicator". Gainesville, FL: CAPT.

Keck, Carol. (1997) "The Constructivist Classroom". Wall Street Journal, March 4, 1997:A19.

Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pretice-Hall.

Myers, Isabel Briggs. (1993) Introduction to Type: A Guide to Understanding Your Results on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. 5th ed. Revised by L.K. Kirby and K.D. Myers. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.

Nelson, C. (1989) "Skewered on the Unicorn's Horn: The illusion of tragic tradeoff between content and critical thinking in the teaching of science". In L. Crow, ed., Enhancing Critical Thinking in the Sciences. Washington, DC: Society of College Science Teachers.

Perry, W. (1970) Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years: A scheme. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Thoma, George A. (1993) "The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics". Journal of Economic Education Spring:128-136.

For Section IV: What is PBL?

Allen, Deborah E., Barbara Duch, and Susan Groh. (1996) "The Power of Problem-Based Learning in Teaching Introductory Science Courses". In L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 43-52. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Burch, Kurt. (1995) "PBL and the Lively Classroom". About Teaching 47 (January) 2.

Coles, C. (1991) "Is Problem-based Learning the Only Way?" In D. Boud and G. Feletti, eds., The Challenge of Problem-Based Learning. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Duch, B.J., and M. Norton. (1992) "Teaching for Cognitive Growth". Teaching Excellence: Toward the Best in the Academy, a newsletter of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education 4(8):1-2.

Gijselaers, Wim H. (1996) "Connecting Problem-Based Practices with Educational Theory". In L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 13-21. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Haldane, J.B.S. (1923) Daedalus, or Science and the Future: A paper read to the heretics, Cambridge, on February 4th, 1923. New York, NY: E.P. Dutton and Company.

Johnson, D.W., R.T. Johnson, and K.A. Smith. (1991) Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4. Washington, DC: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

Tobias, S. (1990) They're Not Dumb, They're Different. Tucson, AZ: Research Corporation.

Wilkerson, L. (1995) "Skills for the Problem-based Tutor: Student and Faculty Perspectives". Instructional Science 22:303-315.

----------. (1996) "Tutors and Small Groups in Problem-Based Learning: Lessons from the Literature". In L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 23-32. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Williams, S.M. (1992) "Putting Case-based Instruction into Context: Examples from Legal and Medical Education". Journal of the Learning Sciences 2(4):367-427.

Wingspread Conference. (1994) "Quality Assurance in Undergraduate Education: What the Public Expects". Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

V. Illustrating PBL

Albanese, M.A., and S. Mitchell. (1993) "Problem-Based Learning: A Review of the Literature on Its Outcomes and Implementation Issues". Academic Medicine 68(1):52-81.

Barrows, Howard S. (1984) "A Specific, Problem-Based, Self-Directed Learning Method Designed to Teach Medical Problem-Solving Skills, Self-Learning Skills, and Enhanced Knowledge Retention and Recall". In H.G. Schmidt and M.L. DeVolder, eds., Tutorials in Problem-Based Learning. Maastricht, the Netherlands: Van Gorcum.

----------. (1996) "Problem-Based Learning in Medicine and Beyond: A Brief Overview". In In L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 3-12. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Bereiter, C., and M. Scardamalia. (1992) "Cognition and Curriculum". In P.W. Jackson, ed., Handbook of Research on Curriculum. Old Tappan, NJ: Macmillan.

Bruer, J.T. (1993) Schools for Thought: A Science of Learning in the Classroom. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Bruning, R.H., G.J. Schraw, and R.R. Ronning. (1995) Cognitive Psychology and Instruction. 2nd. ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Gijselaers, Wim H. (1996) "Connecting Problem-Based Practices with Educational Theory". In L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 13-21. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Vernon, D.T.A. and R.L. Blake. (1993) "Does Problem-Based Learning Work?: A Meta-Analysis of Evaluative Research". Academic Medicine 68(7):550-563.

For Additional Information...

...On Active Learning:

Brooks, J.G., and M.G. Brooks. (1993) The Case for Constructivist Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Eison, J.A. (1990) "Confidence in the College Classroom: Ten Maxims for New Teachers". College Teaching 38:21-25.

Johnson, D.W., R.T. Johnson, and E. Holubec. (1990) Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Books.

McKeachie, W.J., P.R. Pintrich, Y-G Lin, and D.A.F. Smith. (1986) Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom: A Review of the Research Literature. Ann Arbor, MI: National Center for Research to Improve Post-secondary Teaching and Learning (NCRIPTAL), University of Michigan.

Schomberg, S.F., ed. (1986) Strategies for Active Teaching and Learning in University Classrooms. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.

Silberman, Mel. (1996) Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach any Subject. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

...On Problem-Based Learning:

Boud, D., and G. Feletti, eds. (1991) The Challenge of Problem-Based Learning. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Michaelson, Larry K. (1992) "Team Learning: A Comprehensive Approach for Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education". To Improve the Academy 11.

Norman, G.R., and H.G. Schmidt. (1992) "The Psychological Bases of Problem-based Learning: A Review of the Evidence". Academic Medicine 67(9) September: 557-565.

Stepien, W., and S. Gallagher. (1993) "Problem-based Learning: As Authentic as it Gets". Educational Leadership, April: 25-28.

Wilkerson, LuAnn, and Wim H. Gijselaers, eds., Bringing Problem-Based Learning to Higher Education: Theory and Practice, 13-21. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

...On Handling Conflict and Conflicts

Drury, S.S. (1984) Assertive Supervision: Building Involved Teamwork. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

...On Cognitive Development

Duch, Barbara J., and Mary Norton. (1992) "Teaching for Cognitive Growth". Teaching Excellence: Toward the Best in the Academy, a newsletter of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education 4(8):1-2.

Perkins, D.N. (1986) Knowledge as Design. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

...Helpful Web Addresses

Problem-based Learning Resources, University of Delaware:

Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education, University of Delaware:

Problem-based Learning Resources, Exploring the Environment:

Institute for Academic Technology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

Cooperative Learning Center, University of Minnesota at Minneapolis:

Howard Barrows, one of the leading proponents and practitioners of PBL:

Questions:		Answer Scale:
#8: How much do you think you have learned in this course compared to others at UDela?		1=much more than average ...... 5=much less
#11: Did the instructor inspire student interest?		1=definitely ................... 5=not at all
#12: How receptive was the instructor toward different points of view?		1=highly receptive ......... 5=totally unreceptive
#15: Overall, how would you rate this course?		1=excellent .................... 5=very poor
#16: Overall, how would you rate this instructor?		1=excellent .................... 5=very poor
#17: Would you recommend this course to another student?		1=definitely .................... 5=never
#18: Would you recommend this instructor to another student?		1=definitely .................... 5=never

Stages of Cognitive Development	Transitions in Cognitive Development
#1: Dualistic Thinking students generally believe knowledge is certain and unambiguous: black/white, right/wrong questions have immutable, objective answers students generally believe authorities possess valuable wisdom that contains eternal truths
	Certainty yields to uncertainty and ambiguity
#2: Multiplicity students come to believe that where uncertainty exists, knowledge and truth are essentially subjective and personal.
	Students come to recognize that mere opinion is insufficient because specific critieria help evaluate the usefulness and validity of knowledge claims: methodology empirical evidence explanatory power predictive power logical consistency positive vs. normative conclusions
#3: Contextual-Relativism students come to believe that even where uncertainty exists, people must make choices about premises, frameworks, hypotheses, and theories to apply; policy conclusions are not self-evident
	Students may come to recognize that even in a world of uncertainty, they must make choices (whether about ideas, hypotheses, theories, or policies). And these choices require methods of critical thinking.
#4: Context-Appropriate Decisions students may come to acknowledge that choices require analysis and values. Knowledge, theories, and methods are imperfect and uncertain, thus personal choices require acknowledging personal responsibility that follows from personal values.

Source: model modifications by Nelson (1989), with additional comments by Thoma (1993)

Thoma, George A. (1993) "The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics". Journal of Economic Education Spring:128-136.

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