PBL encouraged to explore and discover a large amount of evidence or information rather than a linear answer. Its highly recommended in HIE's as a teaching and learning practice

Article Designing Project-Based Learning (PjBL) Activities for Art a...

Dear Mariam,

Research on PBL usually report small/medium size implementation (many of them pilots)

Hong Kong does have a 'real and big-scale' PBL in some university faculties higher education. A faculty of medicine here, for example,  has been running PBL. Instead of taking courses of anatomy, physiology, histology, pathology, and diagnostics separately, students gets a problem, for example, a lung cancer patient. From this problem, they learn anatomy of the lung, its physiology (function), histology (tissues), all the way to pathology and clinics.

It has limitations, for example, can freshmen students can do a hand-on treatment? God forbid...  a full-scale PBL has its limitations.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a powerful vehicle for this, in which a real-world problem becomes a context for students to investigate, in depth, what they need to know and want to know. It is a robust, constructivist process, shaped and directed primarily by the student, with the instructor as metacognitive coach.

http://www.cct.umb.edu/pblscience.html

D.N. Perkins book "Knowledge as Design" (1986) discusses how we may teach every subject as a design process. In visual arts, design technology, even photography, I present students with challenging design problems with upfront research and process work. Here are 2 examples of my Grade 9 projects. 1) Design a thematic game-board (fantasy vs reality, for instance) on a 6 x 6 grid and create, and create their own rules of play, how to win and how to lose. (A brief introduction to game theory provides a cross-curricular connection.) The game-board is a painting reflecting the theme, and 6 game pieces on either side are sculptures (4" to 6" high) that also reflect the respective themes. 2) Create a new species of vertebrate animal. Research the 5 classes of vertebrate animals. Practice drawing your favourite animal from each class (in their respective habitats). Then, using coloured renderings combine body parts from each class to create a new species in a fantastical habitat. Then (finally) paint it in acrylic. I look at problem-based learning as offering challenging design problems and solving them with research and process. The final solution is in concrete form.

I would like to suggest my 3 articles about problem-solving strategies:

1. Pellas, N. (2015). An exploration of interrelationships among presence indicators of a community of inquiry in a 3D game-like environment for high school programming courses. Interactive Learning Environments (to appear).

2. Pellas, N. & Peroutseas, E. (2015). Leveraging Scratch4SL and Second Life to motivate high school students’ participation in introductory programming courses: Findings from a case study. The New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia Journal (to appear).

3. Pellas, N. & Peroutseas, E. (2016). Gaming in Second Life via Scratch4SL: Engaging high school students in programming courses.  Journal of Educational Computing Research, 54(1), 108-143.

You can find them to the above Journals or you can download them from my profile.

Kind regards

NP

Dear All,

Thanks for the comprehensive insight and elaborate links.

Based on all of your reply, I gather that most of you, if not all, are using the PBLs in different faculties in your own country.

I reckon PBLs are effectively necessary for present day learning method.

Best regards - Mariam

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein