June 1, 2012
Follow the link http://pbln.imsa.edu/resources/articles/problemlog.html and click on Spring 2009, Volume 9 Issue. Read the essay on 'Pedagogic Growth Through PBL'. Then comment on the following statement:
'I feel convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards.'
Follow the link http://pbln.imsa.edu/resources/articles/problemlog.html and click on Spring 2009, Volume 9 Issue. Read the essay on 'Pedagogic Growth Through PBL'. Then comment on the following statement:
'I feel convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards.'
I am in agreement with the educational system needs to make a change, so as a society we can have a fight chance of keeping up with others countries. Moving from a standards based focus to a problem based focus just might be the move to help keep the US students moving at the same rate as the rest of the world. We are living and working in a global world, which has lots of problems that needs solving and if we teach our students to learn and apply information using problem based learning they will have an excellent chance a being productive in their adult lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in order for educational system to moved towards 21st Century Learning we must use PBL's. PBL's are used to help students to think critically, problem solve, work with other members, communiate orally as well as in written. Students have a huge problem thinking for themselves, they wait for the teacher to give the information, before they even begin to read the directions. In the work place as well as in college, professors as well as employees want students that are able to think, work with others, problem solve, and to be able to start task and complete a task with out beig told to.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the goal of education should be to produce individuals who can solve problems rather than individuals who have previously mastered some arbitrary standards. Daily life, from the most mundane trip to the grocery store to a job which requires you to program a computer is a series of problems that must be solved. By focusing simply on standards based on knowledge acquisition, we ignore this fact and do not provide our students with the tools they will find most useful in the future.
ReplyDeleteWe must not lose sight of the fact, however, that the best problem solver is one who has a vast amount of prior knowledge to draw from as well as excellent problem solving skills. Engineers do not derive the distance formula from the Pythagorean Theorem every time they need it. With this in mind, we see that we must draw a balance between problem based learning and content based standards learning.
I think the above statement is right, but partially right. The statement is right because the things students learn must be relevant to a real world problem to solve, which makes PBL important for this goal. However there are some standards that do not necessarily have a directly applicable related problem in life. These standards should be covered and mastered as well, depending on the learning goals of the students in question.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement
ReplyDelete'I feel convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards.'
I have found it difficult to differentiate and engage students in inquiry in an authentic way because of time constraints that our 5 week testing schedule (at Mays) imposes. I also personally feel that the most important thing we learn as students is not content, but how to learn and solve problems and to think about an issue from multiple angles. Once a student has mastered critical thinking and problem solving, they have the tools to approach new challenges that arise.
However, If our education system is to change in a way that supports process over content, we will need to devise new instruments for measuring learning. It is clear to many that the standardized testing procedures in place now do not support PBL.
'I feel convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards.'
ReplyDeleteI agree the system should focus on learning rather than teaching. That is, we should be student centered in our education through discovery and experimentation versus focusing on what needs to be taught. That being said we also need to ensure that the discoveries are guided to meet a common set of standards. This since each student needs a foundation from which they can build. So although the focus may not be on the standards, these are what should guide the teacher's as they prepare the PBL's and use these to guide the student's learning process.
I concur with the following statement, but believe that the statement can only work if educators are willing to adapt or change their way of teaching. Some educators have taught for many years and may not be as willing to change so late in their career. There has to be a convincing "by in", numerous workshops/training sessions and modeling in order for educators to feel comfortable with and master problem based learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the focus should be on the improvement of learning not the knowledge of the standard. As long as every student is learning and improving on how to learn and solve real situation and resolve conflicts, education is taking place ethically.
ReplyDeletePertaining to the question of feeling convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards, I find myself on both sides of the fence. I do believe that Problem Based Learning provides for a more in-depth knowledge and understanding of standards through the inquiry-based approach; however, as an educator of 19 years in the area of Mathematics, the education system holds us to extreme accountability and scrutiny of teaching a great numbers of standards in order to prepare our students for high-stake tests, like EOCTs. You find yourself seeking for a Happy Medium when it comes to educating your students.
ReplyDeleteAm I CONVINCED? No. While I do agree that students will not retain knowledge as well if the content they are being taught is of no interest to them, I think the education system is doing back-flips & cartwheels to improve learning when most of the factors that contribute to student learning & motivation are out of the control of educators. In an ideal educational situation, introducing content through problems would be the most effective method for student knowledge retention.
ReplyDeleteHigher order thinking is critical to understanding our complex world: How scientific advancements impact social issues;How social issues impact scientific advancement,etc. Solving the technical, ethical and social problems that will face the next generation will require such higher order thinking skills nurtured by PBL's. It is our duty to prepare students for the world they live in so that they can understand, fully participate and affect there future world.
ReplyDeleteIn modern times the only way our students can compete with the world is if we adapt a problem solving approach in our teaching. As the author stated in the article, with problem based learning students beocme self regulated learners for the lifetime. Being a high school teacher I see students' frustration and lack of motivation in our traditional classroom. I strongly believe that there should be a legislative change in the education system which allow teachers to focus on teaching problem solving skills rather than a drill and practice of skills to master standards.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should change learning through problems rather than standard mastery because this will make learning more meaningful than memorization does. Students constantly ask why they are learning something. This approach provides purpose which will promote interest. It's not just information. I believe this will help the student who struggles with mastery of standards. It leads students to be responsible for their own learning. Students will be more productive as adults. I also believe this will help us to increase our standing globally.
ReplyDeleteIn previous decades, educators taught students to recall facts and answer questions based directly on the content that was taught. Students that best demonstrated this were often the overachieving or "A" students. However, with the dawn of the digital age, students no longer are being challenged to rely rote memorization as a means of learning and or demonstrating mastery of material. The availability of information is literaly at their fingertips. In order to stay abreasted of our students we as teachers must be equiped with the necessary tools to bring about authenic learning, while being able to hold the interest of our students.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with this statement. With being a science teacher, I feel as if the students need to master the idea of problem solving versus being able to answer questions. There have been many times where my friends (also science teachers) and I have had intense discussions about things that we've seen but didn't understand. Using the "scientific method" we were able to come up with plausible solutions. I feel that PBL is basically the same concept. Students have to think critically and process that knowledge. The gain from that extends so much further than the classroom. Honestly there are not many times in my everyday life that I think about the atom, but problem solving skills I use everyday. I think the idea of teaching for mastery of a standard is used because it is the easiest to actually quantify and deliver for the masses.
ReplyDelete"If you want something different, you have to do what you have never done..." I use this expression with my students but it applies very aptly to the current educational system. Students should no longer be learning in order to compete with themselves or the person next to them or even within their respective states. They need to be prepared for the global economy and global system that we live in now and in the future. As global citizens, students must be prepared to compete in the world. We have to prepare them to be global thinkers who understand how to think critically. Problem-based and project-based learning are the kinds of strategies we can use to help prepare our students to analyze and provide solutions for real-world problems.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is a strong need to move away from the traditional methods of teaching to Problem Based Learning.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, we can educate our students by integrating real world topics into PBL curriculum. PBL will definetely help them make the connection to the real world as the concepts are being taught in the classroom. It can drive students from the weariness and dreariness of fact driven classes to an exciting world of exploration. This exhilarating power of self learning, with directed efforts of a faciltating educator can help kindle their interest and make real world connection, eventually assisting them to make reformative ideas, as they work in small group cooperative environment.
Changes are essential in our society for a better future so why would not we embrace the changes in the education for a better tomorrow.I loved the concept of PBL primarily because of its nature of holding students responsible for their learning. A number of essential components of teaching - learning is well incorporated in the PBL methodology.Closely following the Scientific method of teaching and digging deep into the problem throgh a systematic process is the PLUS of this method.Along with that we are are able to see our students growing in their multiple skills of learning such as high order, critical, logical and reasoning skills. In conclusion I believe we the educators should be ready to embrace this change.
ReplyDeleteI feel convinced that the education system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards. We should not teach to the standards. Teaching using PBLs is a student centered approach to learning. Technology and the culture of our students dictate that the current methods and instructional strategies must change. Problems of the real world or of student's interest must be our focus. Teaching to the standards, memorizing formulas for solving problems will no longer cut it.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the notion that the educational system as a whole has to make changes in terms of learning through problems rather than focusing on learning to master standards.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time the relatively modern way of learning realized the scale and scope of the old saying "experience is the best teacher".
When students and people in general acquire knowledge or even a skill by doing, as opposed to observing or readin about it, that information or skill sticks with them because they were actively engaged in process by which it was acquired. It's like being a part of a story that's being told. Knowledge or skills acquired in this sense is readily available for recollection or easy to remember because they make a huge impression on the human psyche. This is because it is emotionally charged and hence affects more than just one of the senses. For example it is easier to remember a story than to remember a ten digit phone number. why do you think that's the case?
I do agree with the article, it really emphasizes in critical thinking of our students.Also I strongly believe that PBL approach will refine my teaching.It really gives the chance for both students and teachers to explore the different concepts not only in math and science but also in all core subject areas.It drives students thinking from abstract to concrete.And students learn concepts which really connect to real life situations.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the article , it really emphasizes in critical thinking of our students . Also i strongly believe that PBL approach will refine my teaching.It really gives the chance for both students and teachers to explore different concepts not only in math and science but also in other core subjects.It leads the students thinking abilities from abstract to concrete.And there is much scope that students grow in multiple ways like mentally, logically and their critical and reasoning skills are highly evolved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zuletka's comments and the fact that this is a good direction for our educational system to head towards the future. I think that the article was a little bias because of the gifted student's, which do not represent the norms. But, I think this is a good model for exposing PBL. What are some key components in developing PBLs to build a strong foundation for the future of education?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement. However, our assessment method must be modified to assess students if we were to go 100% PBL. In my opinion, our current standard assessments are standards oriented. Therefore, classrooms that are fully PBL may not "cover" all the standards. Teachers who use 100% PBL need to incorporate methods to be generalized the knowledge learned in the PBL.
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