When mentoring our pre-service and in-service teachers we need to describe
and model both research-based and clinically tested best practices, and
demonstrate how these best practices can be applied in the real (i.e. physical)
and virtual (i.e. online) classroom for both teaching and teacher training. The
combination of face to face instruction in a physical setting and online
learning is called blended learning. In this section of the blog we will
describe how the internet can serve as a supplemental resource for instruction
and the mentoring of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators. In this post
we will begin our discussion on how Problem-based Learning , an online
authentic learning instructional strategy, can be used for Judaic instruction
and the mentoring/teaching of pre-service and in-service Jewish educators.
Assumption: The teacher or mentor teacher has an interactive white board (i.e. SMART
Board, Promethean, etc.), a Tablet PC (also called a Slate or Blade), a
computer presenter or computer with internet access attached to an LCD
projector in the classroom. It would be ideal if students or mentees had access
to their own laptop computers or Ipads. Given parental and school
approval, and the development of specific guidelines, smartphones can be used
to enhance instruction as well.
Note: Although Problem-based Learning can be applied in the Judaic Studies
blended learning classroom, it can be also be used for training pre-service and
in-service Jewish educators for professional or staff development. It is our
hope that Jewish educators around the globe will form an online community of practice, a CoP, a group of people who share
an interest, a craft, and/or a profession, to enhance the delivery of
instruction and training of Jewish educators. For example, here is a CoP you might want
to join.
Let’s begin by defining authentic learning and then explore the methodology
of Problem-based Learning.
As a review, here is our definition of authentic learning:
Authentic learning:
additional explanations
Click on these links to
find more elaborate definitions of authentic learning:
Problem-based learning,
like the web-quest, is another approach to implementing authentic learning.
What is Problem-based Learning?
According to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem-based_learning Problem Based
Learning is defined this way: f
Problem-based
learning (PBL) is a student-centered
pedagogy in which students learn about a subject in the context of complex,
multifaceted, and realistic problems (not to be confused with project-based
learning). The goal of
PBL are to help the students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem
solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and
intrinsic motivation.[1] Working in groups, students identify what they
already know, what they need to know, and how and where to access new
information that may lead to resolution of the problem. The role of the
instructor (known as the tutor in PBL) is that of facilitator of learning who
provides appropriate scaffolding and support of the process, modelling of the process,
and monitoring the learning.[2] The tutor must build students confidence to take on
the problem, encourage the student, while also stretching their understanding.[3]
PBL was pioneered
in the medical school program at McMaster
University in Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada in the late 1960's by Howard Barrows and his colleagues.[4] The PBL curriculum was developed in order to
stimulate the learners, assist the learners in seeing the relevance of learning
to future roles, maintain a higher level of motivation towards learning, and to
show the learners the importance of responsible, professional attitudes
(Barrows, 1996).
Problem-Based
Learning subsequently has been adopted by other medical school programs
(Barrows, 1996), adapted for undergraduate instruction (Boud and Feletti, 1997;
Duch et al., 2001; Amador et al., 2006) as well as elementary and high school
(Barrows, 1996; Gasser, 2011). The use of PBL has expanded from its initial
introduction into medical school programs to include education in the areas of
other health sciences, math, law, education, economics, business, social
studies, and engineering (Barrows 1996; Gasser, 2011). The use of PBL, like
other student-centered pedagogies, has been motivated by recognition of the
failures of traditional instruction (Wingspread, 1994; Boyer, 1998) and the
emergence of deeper understandings of how people learn (National Research
Council, 2000). Unlike traditional instruction, PBL actively engages the
student in constructing knowledge. PBL includes problems that can be solved in
many different ways and have more than one solution. [5] A good problem is authentic, meets students level of
prior knowledge, engages students in discussion, and is interesting.[2]
The Six core
characteristics of problem based learning: [6]
-consists of student-centered
learning
-learning occurs
in small groups
-teachers act as
facilitators or guides (referred to as tutors)
-a problem forms
the basis for organized focus and stimulus for learning
-problems
stimulate the development and use of problem solving skills
-new knowledge
is obtained through means of self-directed
learning
In PBL, students
are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct
the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. Advocates of PBL
claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge while simultaneously
fostering the development of communication, problem-solving, critical thinking,
collaboration, and self-directed learning skills.[7][3]
PBL may position
students in a simulated real world working and professional context which
involves policy, process, and ethical problems that will need to be understood
and resolved to some outcome. By working through a combination of learning strategies
to discover the nature of a problem, understanding the constraints and options
to its resolution, defining the input variables, and understanding the
viewpoints involved, students learn to negotiate the complex sociological
nature of the problem and how competing resolutions may inform decision-making.
Schmidt
(1983) describes the
process of Problem-based learning as being seven steps:
- clarifying and
agreeing on terms and concepts that are unclear
- define the
problem and review terms which need more depth or explanation
- analyze,
brainstorm and create potential hypothesis
- discuss,
evaluate and organize possible explanations into potential hypothesis
- generate and
prioritize learning objectives, divide research workload
- private study
time to research objectives
- during next
tutorial report back gained information, create an explanation and synthesize
new information in relation to the problem
In the next post we
will explore Problem-based Jewish Learning.
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