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