An ASCD Study Guide for Energizing Teacher Education and Professional Development with Problem-Based Learning

Most of the questions in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own. You might also consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Energizing Teacher Education and Professional Development with Problem-Based Learning. In addition to the study questions, the guide contains several activities entitled "extending your learning." We encourage you to try them either individually or with others; you might also consider modifying them for use in any PBL professional development activity you might be involved in.

Introduction

1. What do you think should be included in a list of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that teachers need to be successful in 21st century schools?
2. What do you think is needed in classrooms and schools to help teachers become less teacher directed and more student centered, hence more likely to use a tool like problem-based learning?
3. What are some examples of "ill-structured problems" that teachers face?
4. The author states that PBL is consistent with constructivist theories of learning. How do you define constructivism?

Extending your learning:

1. Use a search engine to locate and read additional information about problem-based learning on the Internet. A good place to start is the list of Internet addresses at the end of most chapters in the book.
2. Use a search engine to locate and read additional information about project-based learning on the Internet and then compare these two approaches. How are problem-based and project-based learning alike and how are they different?

Chapter 1. They Expect Teachers to Do That? Helping Teachers Explore and Take Ownership of Their Profession

1. The author wants her students to wonder and care about fundamental educational issues. In your opinion, what are some of the most critical issues in education today?
2. In addition to understanding the historical and philosophical foundations of education, what else do you believe should be included in the knowledge base of teachers?
3. The author suggests viewing such movies as Mr. Holland's Opus and Dead Poets' Society to provoke discussion about philosophies of education. What other movies do you think might offer insights and stimulate discussions about educational issues?
4. To make PBL work in her classes, the author used tent cards to take roll. She also used scheduled class time to meet with student groups. What other kinds of organizational and management concerns do you think you might have to address when engaging teachers in problem-based learning experiences?
5. What is your personal experience working in groups? How have you handled the problem of some people doing more work than others?

Extending your learning:

1. Find news, articles, editorials, and editorial cartoons in local and national publications that represent problems and issues in education that you would like to discuss with others. Use these as discussion starters with your colleagues or study group.
2. Begin building a list of professional educators, including active and retired teachers, administrators, professors, and others, who would be willing to serve as resources and mentors. Include schools and other sites that would be good places for teachers to visit.
3. Draft a rubric to evaluate student learning in a PBL situation. Share your rubric with others to get feedback on your ideas and to gather their ideas for improving it.

Chapter 2. Problem-Based Learning in an Undergraduate Educational Psychology Course

1. The author assessed content knowledge, problem-solving skills, and student motivation. What would you expect students to learn from participating in PBL? Why do you think these areas would be important?
2. The author randomly assigned her students to small groups. What are some pros and cons of this method? What are other ways to form student groups?
3. What are some norms you think are important to establish when students (and teachers) are asked to work in groups?
4. What assessment or grading methods do you think should be used with a PBL unit? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
5. What are some roles that an instructor who uses PBL must assume?
6. This author, and other chapter authors, describe many roles for the instructor in a PBL classroom. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to do well as a PBL instructor? Why? What would be the easiest thing for you to do well? Why?

Extending your learning:

1. The Internet has much information about PBL. To learn more, try these sites:
   • http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/cpbl.html
   • http://www.pbli.org
   • http://www.samford.edu/pbl/sitemap.html
2. Generate a set of questions you would like to know the answers to when evaluating the success of PBL. Share these with others to develop a PBL assessment tool.

Chapter 3. Providing Structure for Analyzing Authentic Problems

1. The authors videotaped an actual class each semester. What would be some advantages and disadvantages of using the same videotape every semester as the focus of the problem?
2. If their students want them present, the authors observe, but do not assess, the lessons the students present to the children in the videotaped class. They do assess the students' written reflections after the lessons have been presented. If the instructors choose to evaluate the actual teaching of the lessons, what assessment criteria do you think would be most valuable?
3. One problem with PBL is that students sometimes resist their initial experiences and feel confused because they are unaccustomed to the demands of self-regulated problem solving that PBL requires. Do you think instructors should provide structure to help students? If so, what suggestions do you think would work?

Extending your learning:

1. Brainstorm with a partner or your study group some concrete activities that PBL instructors can do to eliminate some of the early resistance felt by students new to PBL.

Chapter 4. The Inclusion Classroom Problem: Learning About Students with Disabilities

1. What knowledge, skills, and attitudes do you think teachers need to successfully teach students with disabilities who are included in their classrooms?
2. How does the definition of inclusion in this problem compare to how you understand or practice inclusion? What are the challenges and benefits of using different definitions of inclusion?
3. What do you know about theories of learning and motivation that indicate PBL might be a viable tool for teaching about students with disabilities, inclusion, and collaboration?
4. Collaboration was identified as one of the goals of the PBL unit described in this chapter. What are some ways it was defined in the unit? What do you think are the benefits of collaboration? Are there elements about collaboration that you do not think are beneficial?

Extending your learning:

1. Using a strengths-based approach is helpful in working with students with special needs. Make a list of strengths for three students who have special needs. Include not only what these students can do and bring to your classroom but also what strengths their families can add. Consider academic, social, emotional, physical, and cultural strengths for each student.
2. One of the best resources we found to learn more about students with special needs is the following Web site: http://www.nichcy.org. Use it as a starting point for finding information about disabilities, strategies for working with students with disabilities in the classroom, information for parents, and links to other resources. Share information you find with others.

Chapter 5. The Charter School and Problem-Based Learning

1. What do you know about the charter school movement in general and about the charter schools in your state?
2. What is your opinion about movements to provide alternatives to public education, including charter schools, vouchers, and tax support for private and parochial schools?
3. If you could design a school from the bottom up, what essential elements would you include?
4. What are ways besides checklists and rubrics to assess student learning from PBL experiences?
5. An important feature of most PBL experiences is to present what has been learned in an authentic manner. The students who engaged in this charter school PBL were intimidated by having to make this type of presentation—and they were graduate students preparing to be teachers. What could be done to prepare students so that oral presentations are authentic but not intimidating?

Extending your learning:

1. If possible, arrange to visit a nearby charter school or invite a founding member of a charter school to talk with your class or study group.
2. The Internet has much information about charter schools. To learn more about them, try these sites:

Chapter 6. Using Problem-Based Learning to Teach Problem-Based Learning

1. The author describes PBL as a messy, authentic, ill-structured problem. What does it mean to you when a problem is described as "messy" and "ill-structured"?
2. Throughout this course, students were asked to consider their philosophy of education and to write about effective teaching. What is your philosophy of education? What do you think constitutes effective teaching? Does PBL fit within your thinking about education?
3. The author taught PBL inductively (going from the whole to its parts). Do you think PBL could also be taught deductively (going from the parts to the whole)? Why or why not?
4. What do you think are the essential elements of PBL?

Extending your learning:

1. Discuss with your study group or other educators what they think constitutes an authentic learning experience for students and for adults.
2. Survey other educators to find out what they think PBL is all about and then plan ways to broaden their understanding of PBL. Perhaps you can make a presentation to your faculty.
3. Brainstorm a list of what you think are the essential elements of a PBL experience. Compare your list with others in your study group or with what you have learned from the authors in this book. Share your thinking with other educators.

Chapter 7. Classroom Action Research as Problem-Based Learning

1. What has been your most successful professional development experience to date? What factors made it a good professional development experience for you?
2. The author compares PBL and classroom action research (CAR). How are the characteristics of each the same or different from what you think of as traditional educational research you learned about in school?
3. How do PBL and CAR differ from typical professional development experiences for teachers?
4. What skills that you already have would help you complete a PBL/CAR project successfully? What skills would you want support in learning?

Extending your learning:

1. With a teaching partner, other peers, or members of a study group, brainstorm some possible PBL/CAR research questions you would be interested in. Choose one of your questions and try to refine it into a doable PBL or CAR project.
2. Survey other educators to find out what they think PBL is all about and then plan ways to broaden their understanding of PBL. Perhaps you can make a presentation to your faculty.
3. Explore the author's Web site to learn more about PBL/CAR (http://www.iusb.edu/~gmetteta) or enter the keywords "action research" or "teacher action research" on an Internet search engine to find other related information and resources about conducting action research.

Chapter 8. Frequently Asked Questions About Problem-Based Learning

1. Time is at a premium when using PBL. What are some ways you can think of to capture more time or to use the time you have more efficiently?
2. What questions do you still have about PBL?

Extending your learning:

1. One of the best ways to learn more about PBL is to engage in PBL. Therefore, we suggest that you take the plunge and try it! Feel free to use any of the ideas suggested in this book, modify and adapt a problem to your own situation, or create your own.
2. Contact any of the authors in this book about your questions on PBL. We would be happy to hear from you and to share more of our own experiences if they might help you with your questions.
3. Read other books published by ASCD about PBL, including Delisle's (1997) book, How to Use Problem-Based Learning in the Classroom and Torp and Sage's (1998) book, Problems as Possibilities: Problem-Based Learning in K–12 Education.

Energizing Teacher Education and Professional Development with Problem-Based Learning was edited by Barbara Levin. This 140-page, 6" x 9" book (Stock #101002; ISBN 0-87120-508-4) is available from ASCD for $19.95 (ASCD member) and $23.95 (nonmember). Copyright 2001 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia, 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.