THEORY NAME: Problem-based Instruction (PBI)

THEORIST NAME: Harold S. Barrows, M.D.

ASSOCIATED LEARNING THEORY / APPROACH
Constructivism.

MODEL / DESCRIPTION
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
PBI is not a new model of instruction. Plato and Socrates required that their students think, retrieve information for themselves, search for new ideas and debate them in a scholarly environment.

PBI was officially adopted as a pedagogical approach in 1968 at McMaster University, a Canadian medical school. (Neufeld & Barrows, 1974), because students were unable to apply their substantial amount of basic scientific knowledge to clinical situations. While the fundamental approach of problem solving in situated environments has been used throughout the history of schooling, the term PBI did not appear until the 1970s and was devised as an alternative approach to medical education. In most medical programs, students initially take a series of fact intensive courses in biology and anatomy and then participate in a field experience as a medical resident in a hospital or clinic.

However, Barrows (http://www.pbli.org/faculty/hsb.htm) reported that, unfortunately, medical residents frequently had difficulty applying knowledge from their classroom experiences in work-related, problem-solving situations. He argued that the classical framework of learning medical knowledge first in classrooms through studying and testing was too passive and removed from context to take on meaning. Consequently, PBI was first seen as a medical field immersion experience whereby students learned about their medical specialty through direct engagement in realistic problems and gradual apprenticeship in natural or simulated settings. Problem solving is emphasized as an initial area of learning and development in PBI medical programs more so than memorizing a series of facts outside their natural context..

THEORY DESCRIPTION
PBI is a learner-centered educational method. Using this approach, learners are progressively given more and more responsibility for their own education and become increasingly independent of the teacher for their education. PBL produces independent learners who can continue to learn on their own in life and in their chosen careers.

Problem-based instruction (PBI) is an instructional strategy in which students actively resolve complex problems in realistic situations. As an instructional model, it demonstrates that any learning can be accomplished through “learning prompts,” which serve both to intrigue the learner and ensure high quality learning outcomes. It can be used to teach individual lessons, units, or even entire curricula. PBI is often approached in a team environment with emphasis on building skills related to consensual decision making, dialogue and discussion, team maintenance, conflict management, and team leadership.

MODEL

THEORY SPECIFICATIONS
DESIRED GOAL / OUTCOME
PBI for inquiry learning has been widely reported as producing desired learning outcomes: students became responsible for their own learning, developed active inquiry habits, and learned effective research techniques. Major objectives of PBI:
Engage the problems they face in life and career with initiative and enthusiasm.
Problem-solve effectively using an integrated, flexible and usable knowledge base.
Employ effective self-directed learning skills to continue learning as a lifetime habit.
Continuously monitor and assess the adequacy of their knowledge, problem-solving and self-directed learning skills.
Collaborate effectively as a member of a group.
Learners benefit most from opportunities to solve authentic problems in tutor-led groups which stimulate study of individually determined “learning issues” followed by application of the information.

PRINCIPLES
Using PBI, learners encounter a problem and attempt to solve it with information they already possess allowing them to appreciate what they already know. They also identify what they need to learn to better understand the problem and how to resolve it.

Once they have worked with the problem as far as possible and identified what they need to learn, the learners engage in self-directed study to research the information needed finding and using a variety of information resources (books, journals, reports, online information, and a variety of people with appropriate areas of expertise). In this way learning is personalized to the needs and learning styles of the individual.

The learners then return to the problem and apply what they learned to their work with the problem in order to more fully understand and resolve the problem.

After they have finished their problem work the learners assess themselves and each other to develop skills in self-assessment and the constructive assessment of peers. Self-assessment is a skill essential to effective independent learning.

CONDITIONS OF LEARNING / APPLICATION

MEDIA DESCRIPTION

ROLE OF THE LEARNER
PBI emphasizes student-directed learning and use of knowledge stimulated by the challenge of solving real-world problems in tutor-led small groups.

Students first define or select an ill-structured problem that has no obvious solution. They develop alternative hypotheses to resolve the problem and discuss and negotiate their conjectures in a group. Next, they access, evaluate, and utilize data from a variety of available sources to support or refute their hypotheses. They may alter, develop, or synthesize hypotheses in light of new information.

Finally, they develop clearly stated solutions that fit the problem and its inherent conditions, based upon information and reasoning to support their arguments. Solutions can be in the form of essays, presentations, or projects.

ROLE OF THE FACILITATOR
The responsibility of the teacher in PBI is to provide the educational materials and guidance that facilitate learning.

As facilitators, teachers give students control over how they learn and provide support and structure in the direction of their learning. They help the class create a common framework of expectations using tools such as general guidelines and timelines. As cognitive modelers, teachers think aloud about strategies and questions that influence how students manage the progress of their learning and accomplish group tasks.

Teachers act primarily as cognitive coaches by facilitating learning and modeling higher order thinking and meta-cognitive skills. Teachers continually question students about the concepts they are learning in the context of the problem in order to probe their understanding, challenge their thinking, and help them deepen or extend their ideas.

As learners become more proficient in the PBL learning process the tutor becomes less active. This is a new skill for many teachers and specific training is required.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

ASSESSMENT METHODS

RESEARCH AND APPLICATION
RESEARCH PROBLEM

RESEARCH QUESTION

CONTEXT TESTED

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CONSTRUCTS / VARIABLES

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

RESOURCES (APA Style Citation)