Scaffolding for Success in Problem-Based Learning

Greening, Tony

doi:10.3402/meo.v3i.4297

Cited by 80 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…PBL rests on the belief that students learn best when they are active participants in their learning rather than passive recipients of information (Barrows, 1996;Bate et al, 2014;Loyens et al, 2015). The collaborative nature of the PBL groups has been shown to increase student motivation, and self-directed learning (Berry, 2008;Dolmans & Schmidt, 1996;Greening, 1998;Schmidt, Rotgans, & Yew, 2011;Smith et al, 2005). Instructors act as guides and meet with group members to facilitate their discussion and supervise the investigation (Loyens et al, 2015;Wood, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Student Engagement in a Large Classroom: Using Technology to Generate a Hybridized Problem-based Learning Experience in a Large First Year Undergraduate Class

Fukuzawa

Boyd

2016

cjsotl-rcacea

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Large first year undergraduate courses have unique challenges in the promotion of student engagement and self-directed learning due to resource constraints that prohibit small group discussions with instructors. The Monthly Virtual Mystery was developed to increase student engagement in a large (N = 725) first year undergraduate class in anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. The teaching challenge was to develop a participation component (worth 6% of the final grade) that would increase student engagement without incurring any additional resource costs. The goal of the virtual mystery was to incorporate the principles of problem-based learning to engage students in self-directed learning through an online medium. Groups of approximately 50 students collaborated on a series of “virtual” case studies in a discussion board. Students submitted comments or questions each week to identify the information they needed to solve the mystery. A facilitator oversaw the discussion board to guide students in collaboration and resource acquisition. The final grades of students who participated in the virtual mystery (N=297) were compared to students who participated in a passive online learning exercise that involved watching weekly online videos and answering questions in a course reader (N = 347). Student self-selection determined group participation. Participation completion for both the virtual mystery and the course reader were high (78.8% and 91.6% respectively). There were no significant differences in the distribution of final grades between the participation options. The high completion rate of the virtual mystery demonstrated that an active learning project can be implemented using problem-based learning principles through an online discussion board; however, the large online group collaborations were problematic. Students were frustrated with repetition and inequitable participation in such large groups; however, students evaluated the monthly mystery as a valuable learning tool that engaged them through the practical nature of the case scenarios. Au premier cycle, les grandes classes de première année présentent des défis uniques en ce qui concerne la promotion de la participation de l’étudiant et de l’apprentissage autonome en raison des contraintes au niveau des ressources qui empêchent les discussions par petits groupes avec des instructeurs. Le Monthly Virtual Mystery (Le mystère virtuel mensuel) a été créé afin d’améliorer la participation des étudiants dans les très grandes classes (N = 725) d’anthropologie de première année, au premier cycle, à l’Université de Toronto Mississauga. Ce défi en matière d’enseignement avait pour but de développer une composante de participation (qui valait 6 % de la note finale) qui allait permettre d’augmenter la participation des étudiants sans que cela entraîne des coûts supplémentaires en ressources. L’objectif du mystère virtuel était d’incorporer les principes de l’apprentissage par problèmes afin d’engager les étudiants dans un apprentissage autonome grâce à un support en ligne. Des groupes d’environ 50 étudiants ont collaboré à une série d’études de cas « virtuelles » dans un forum de discussion. Les étudiants ont envoyé chaque semaine des commentaires ou des questions afin d’identifier les renseignements dont ils avaient besoin pour résoudre le mystère. Un animateur contrôlait le forum de discussion afin de guider les étudiants dans leur collaboration et leur acquisition des ressources. Les notes finales des étudiants qui avaient participé au mystère virtuel (N = 297) ont été comparées à celles des étudiants qui avaient participé à un exercice d’apprentissage passif en ligne qui consistait à regarder des vidéos hebdomadaires en ligne et à répondre à des questions figurant dans un recueil des textes du cours (N = 347). L’auto-sélection des étudiants avait déterminé la participation aux groupes. La participation, tant pour le mystère virtuel que pour le recueil des textes du cours, a été très élevée (78,8 % et 91,6 % respectivement). Aucune différence significative n’a été notée entre les deux options de participation en ce qui concerne la répartition des notes finales. Le taux de réussite élevé du mystère virtuel a montré qu’un projet d’apprentissage actif peut être mis en place si on utilise les principes de l’apprentissage par problèmes dans un forum de discussion en ligne. Toutefois, les collaborations de grands groupes en ligne ont posé quelques problèmes : les étudiants se sont sentis frustrés par la répétition et la participation inéquitable dans de tels grands groupes. Pourtant, les étudiants ont évalué le mystère mensuel comme un outil d’apprentissage utile qui leur a permis de participer grâce à la nature pratique des scénarios des études de cas.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Student Engagement in a Large Classroom: Using Technology to Generate a Hybridized Problem-based Learning Experience in a Large First Year Undergraduate Class

Fukuzawa

Boyd

2016

cjsotl-rcacea

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“…Early assignments, lectures and guest speakers were also organized during the initial phases of the course. As Greening [21] points out, PBL involves a slower startup which may be due to the development of important "hidden" skills, and that at this stage of the PBL, ensuring the existence of adequate scaffolding is critical. Throughout the semester, including the initial phases, regular reflection assignments or meetings were used to highlight students' own responsibilities and to improve the process for the following phases.…”

Section: F Project Scaffoldingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing international student collaborations: An experience report

Cajander

Daniels

Kultur

et al. 2012

2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings

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Abstract-Knowledge and experience from working in international collaborative projects prepares engineering students for their future careers in a global market. Hence this is an important element in higher education, although seldom provided in the curriculum. One reason for this lack might be uncertainty in how to manage international collaborations and to create a good learning environment for the development of skills related to international collaborations. Therefore this article describes our experiences from managing international student collaborations including theoretical underpinning for our choices when relevant. Having given the context of, and the strategies for running our two collaborations, we provide an analysis of our experiences. This includes observations of differences in the two collaborations, both when due to use of different strategies and when due to different contexts, as well as observations of similarities. With this in mind, we present recommendations for running international student collaborations.

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“…Fig. 1 We applied the scaffolding method [33] to teach the most difficult parts of the lesson. For example, the simulations given on the lesson page as demonstrations or activities with guided text were later given as activities without guided text (Figure 2).…”

Section: B Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learners' Satisfaction, Learning Style Preferences and Effective Use of an OLE

Weerasinghe¹,

Ramberg²,

Hewagamage³

2008

Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Learn.

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Abstract-This paper presents the results of an empirical study conducted with a set of students using an online learning environment (OLE) to follow a distance education program. The aim of the study was to find whether students could perform well in examinations using only the Learning Management System (LMS), whether they could use it in an efficient way and whether there was a relationship between students' learning styles, number of LMS hits and learning achievements. The students were given access to a specially designed course section.The students' learning achievements were evaluated in two tests at different intervals. The study data were gathered using questionnaires and LMS statistics. We found that once the students got acquainted with the environment they could use the LMS more efficiently and managed to get high scores by only using the LMS. Results associated with the learning style preferences imply that we have designed the learning content and the environment to satisfy and support the learners with different learning style preferences.

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Scaffolding for Success in Problem-Based Learning

Cited by 80 publications

References 25 publications

Student Engagement in a Large Classroom: Using Technology to Generate a Hybridized Problem-based Learning Experience in a Large First Year Undergraduate Class

Student Engagement in a Large Classroom: Using Technology to Generate a Hybridized Problem-based Learning Experience in a Large First Year Undergraduate Class

Managing international student collaborations: An experience report

Learners' Satisfaction, Learning Style Preferences and Effective Use of an OLE

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