Tutoring and Demonstrating - Problem-Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach to teaching and learning that is now used in some faculties. It is considered to be a way of learning that is especially valuable for students in the professional disciplines.

As the title suggests, PBL uses a problem as a trigger for learning. A vignette, scenario or practical problem, often an actual example or case study drawn from professional practice, is presented to students. Students are expected to investigate the problem, usually in small teams, and to work toward a solution or response to it by drawing on as many information sources as appropriate and as can be mustered. The intention is to mimic the problem-solving that takes place in professional practice and in the normal workplace. It is usually argued that another advantage of this approach it that the subject matter becomes more interesting and relevant to students.

The PBL process involves:

• clarification of the problem;
• identification of solution strategies;
• identification of sources of information;
• investigation and reflection on the findings;
• resolution of the problem; and,
• evaluation of the learning process.

PBL is not simply increasing the number of activities or exercises that involve problem-solving. In fact, problem-based learning turns many of the usual assumptions about teaching and learning upside down. PBL reverses the conventional teaching and learning pattern in which a body of knowledge related to a topic is presented piece by piece to students until, eventually, they are expected to be ready to tackle professional problems using the aggregate knowledge they have accumulated. Critics of this widespread approach to teaching and learning claim that it produces students who are not self-directed learners and who, while they may be adept at recalling information or solving artificial problems, are less capable of dealing with the more complex and problematic situations encountered in the professional workplace. PBL, on the other hand, places faith in the resourcefulness of human beings and the natural human capacity for learning when confronted with a problem.

PBL is not based on topics or subjects. Instead, problems provide the need for students to explore relevant bodies of knowledge and pursue resources. Libraries, CD-ROMS, the Internet, academic staff, tutors and demonstrators, all become resources to be used. PBL literally forces students to take control of their own learning. The experience can be unsettling for students who are not familiar with this approach to learning. It may also be unsettling for teaching staff, for it requires a substantial rethinking of the teacher-student relationship. There is, for instance, no longer the expectation that teaching staff will take students systematically through subject content.

What is the role of a tutor in PBL? In this form of teaching, a tutor can act in the following roles:

• a resource, in terms of subject expertise and knowledge of procedures;
• a guide to other resources, such as written materials, Internet sites, and so on.
• a monitor and facilitator of group processes, but usually as a background figure;
• a critical sounding-board for ideas, a tester and challenger;
• an encourager of students experiencing difficulties;
• a learner too, exploring with students creative solutions to problems for which there may be no single right answer;
• a 'trouble-shooter', if things go badly wrong.

Clinical tutoring

Next chapter: Chapter 7: Assessment, feedback and support

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