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xPBL: a Methodology for Managing PBL when Teaching Computing

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In order to exploit the benefits of PBL and mitigate the risk of failure when implementing it, the NEXT (iNnovative Educational eXperience in Technology) research group has been working on methods and tools focused on managing the PBL approach as applied to Computing. In this context, this article proposes a teaching and learning methodology based on PBL, called xPBL, consisting of elements that reinforce PBL principles, namely: real and relevant problems; a practical environment; an innovative and flexible curriculum; an authentic assessment process; close monitoring by technical tutors and process tutors, and finally, professional practitioners as teachers and tutors. Based on these elements, the paper describes the design of a PBL approach for a Design course, grounded on acquired knowledge of Design content and past PBL experiences in Software Engineering courses. This approach provides an insightful guide to implementing PBL from xPBL methodology, and provides instruments based on management techniques such as 5W2H (what, why, who, when, where, how and how much) and the production of artifacts to support the conception process of courses based on PBL.
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... In summary, PBL manifests as an educational paradigm anchored in problem-solving, providing students with real-world scenarios pertinent to their academic domain. Its extensive utilization in SE education is attributed to its inherent applicability and the fostering of collaborative skills [10,11,22,28]. ...
... According to dos Santos et al. [10], there are five key concerns to pay attention to when planning an educational program with PBL. Firstly, the identification and definition of the Problem serve as the foundational step, establishing the project to be undertaken by the students. ...
... Americanas S.A. is an active enterprise in the Brazilian retail market. We detail the educational program based on the Lean R&D PBL hereafter, aligning it with the five key PBL concerns outlined by dos Santos et al. [10]. ...
Conference Paper
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Context] Software Engineering (SE) education constantly seeks to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry demands, with active learning methods like Problem-Based Learning (PBL) gaining prominence. Despite these efforts, recent graduates struggle to align skills with industry needs. Recognizing the relevance of Industry-Academia Collaboration (IAC), Lean R&D has emerged as a successful agile-based research and development approach, emphasizing business and software development synergy. [Goal] This paper aims to extend Lean R&D with PBL principles, evaluating its application in an educational program designed by ExACTa PUC-Rio for Americanas S.A., a large Brazilian retail company. [Method] The educational program engaged 40 part-time students receiving lectures and mentoring while working on real problems, coordinators and mentors, and company stakeholders in industry projects. Empirical evaluation, through a case study approach, utilized struc-tured questionnaires based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). [Results] Stakeholders were satisfied with Lean R&D PBL for problem-solving. Students reported increased knowledge proficiency and perceived working on real problems as contributing the most to their learning. [Conclusion] This research contributes to academia by sharing Lean R&D PBL as an educational IAC approach. For industry, we discuss the implementation of this proposal in an IAC program that promotes workforce skill development and innovative solutions.
... The xPBL is a methodology that aims to align methods and tools for managing the PBL approach to education in fields such as Computer Science, in order to ensure that the principles are respected in its adoption. It was officially defined and proposed in 2014, but researches that supported its creation only started in 2006 [1]. To ensure that PBL principles that go beyond its educational objectives are met, the methodology xPBL is based on five elements: (1) Problem; (2) Environment; (3) Content; (4) The human capital and (5) Process. ...
... The purpose is to illustrate, for those who carry out the planning, what kind of response is expected for each question. The artifact item refers to the field Output from the proposed guide in article [1], which defines the xPBL methodology. As well as in the guide, this item represents a suggestion of a planned aspect formalization or support tool during its implementation. ...
Poster
The PBL (Problem-Based Learning) methodology provides many benefits to those who use it in teaching. In this light, it is important to plan well when using this methodology, efficient to the purposes established by an educator, in a way to avoid those vital aspects to educational planning in the PBL approach that are neglected or forgotten. However, there is a lack of specific tools to help educators in the task of planning their teaching, specifically geared to the PBL approach. As an alternative to this problem, this paper proposes a tool consisting of a Canvas PBL and a set of cards intended to guide the planning of teaching in the PBL approach.
... As a solution to these challenges, in 2017, the professor of the EMS discipline invited the professors of PM and BPM for collaborative planning of their courses. Taking the PBL methodology defined in [23] as a reference, five main elements were considered in this planning: ...
Conference Paper
Higher Education in Computing (ESC) has changed significantly in the last decade, addressing the competencies development as a mix of knowledge, skills, and attitudes demanded by complex problem-solving in real-world situations. Pressured by the constant evolution of technology, the importance of the human aspects in technological projects, and the demand for qualified professionals much greater than the supply, the reference curricula have shifted from specialized and content-based training to training focused on practice and competencies development. In this context, active learning approaches based on practical experiences, such as PBL (Problem-Based Learning), can be used as an educational strategy in line with the new guidelines for teaching computing. PBL also faces challenges; therefore, it is not always possible to fully implement it. These challenges involve new elements to the learning environment concerning human resources, practical and stimulating activities, continuous assessment process, infrastructure aligned with the labor market, and, almost always, curricular reforms, considering that problem-solving is multidisciplinary. As it is not always possible to have the ideal environment for PBL, institutions have implemented creative models, allowing a change in educational strategy even without significant structural and organizational changes in their curricula. This study describes the design and implementation of an interdisciplinary PBL experience in an adverse context with low resources. For this, real problems integrate three disciplines of an undergraduate curriculum in Information Systems (IS), offered in the same timeline: Enterprise Management Systems (EMS), Project Management (PM), and Business Process Management (BPM). These subjects are independent within the curriculum; therefore, interdisciplinarity is implemented on the initiative of the three teachers. To resolve problems through interdisciplinary projects, a collaborative teaching plan is carried out by professors of the three disciplines, PBL tutors, and IT managers in the role of real clients of the projects. As a research method, we used the PDCA process (Plan-Do-Check-Act) to describe the experience planning and its conduction, results, and lessons learned. As a main contribution, we highlight the interdisciplinary proposal of PBL based on collaboration between teachers and a case study showing how to use this proposal. This report argues that we can implement new successful PBL experiences, using the results of the current study as an argument for the broader adoption of PBL in CHE.
... PBL follows some principles such as (i) an authentic learning environment, simulating the situation found in the professional environment, (ii) the use of real problems as a learning object, and (iii) the monitoring of evaluation by continuous feedback [42]. Santos and colleagues [48] defined ten principles for the teaching of computing that founded a methodology called xPBL [49], as shown in Fig. 2. ...
Article
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In Computing Higher Education (CHE), the desired transformation of traditional teaching and learning methods, almost always based on the transmission of information and content-based curricula, has been the objective of several educational institutions that wish to combat students’ demotivation and dropout. Among successful approaches, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) stands out as one of the most effective and radical methods regarding pedagogical innovations. While the PBL implementation means a great opportunity to achieve better educational performance, it also represents many challenges that can only be managed if they are first known and understood. In this context, the motivation for this study comes from the following research question: “How to know if an institution at CHE is ready to implement the PBL?”. As a response, an institutional diagnostic model regarding the adoption of PBL is proposed. It conducted an opinion survey in two kinds of educational institutions: technical and academic ones. Thirty-eight technical educational institutions in computing answered this survey, involving 302 participants, and fifteen academic institutions, involving 20 participants. The results showed that the model reached its objective, allowing the identification of favorable, warning, and critical points regarding the adoption of PBL in these institutions. This study is an evolution of the results focusing only on technical institutions published at the CSEDU 2021 conference and conducted by the NEXT Research Group.
... PBL is a teaching approach that employs projects as pedagogical tools [9], and a teacher's role within a PBL class is not that of a lecturer but that of a mentor or instructor [10]. The PBL focus is on developing social, cognitive, and metacognitive capabilities through real-world motivated artifact-building tasks [11], [12], and not only by immersing students in professional practice environments, as occurs in supervised internships. ...
... PBL follows some principles such as an authentic learning environment and simulation of the situation found in the professional environment, the use of real problems as a learning object, the monitoring of evaluation by continuous feedback (Ribeiro, 2008). In (Santos et al., 2013), ten principles were defined for the teaching of Computing that founded a methodology called xPBL (Santos et al., 2014), as shown in Figure 1. The xPBL methodology defines five manageable elements for PBL planning: 1) Problem; 2) Learning Environment; 3) Human Capital, that includes students, pedagogical team and market partners; 4) Content, as a guide and support to solve problems; And 5) Processes, concerning educational objectives and assessment processes. ...
... PBL follows some principles such as an authentic learning environment and simulation of the situation found in the professional environment, the use of real problems as a learning object, the monitoring of evaluation by continuous feedback (Ribeiro, 2008). In (Santos et al., 2013), ten principles were defined for the teaching of Computing that founded a methodology called xPBL (Santos et al., 2014), as shown in Figure 1. The xPBL methodology defines five manageable elements for PBL planning: 1) Problem; 2) Learning Environment; 3) Human Capital, that includes students, pedagogical team and market partners; 4) Content, as a guide and support to solve problems; And 5) Processes, concerning educational objectives and assessment processes. ...
Conference Paper
In Computing Higher Education (CHE), the desired transformation of traditional teaching and learning methods, almost always based on the transmission of information and content-based curricula, has been the objective of several educational institutions that wish to combat students' demotivation and dropout. Among successful approaches, Problem-Based Learning stands out as one of the most effective and radical methods regarding pedagogical innovations. While the implementation of the PBL means a great opportunity to achieve better educational performance, it also represents many challenges that can only be managed if they are first known and understood. In this context, the motivation for this study comes from the following research question: "How to know if an institution at CHE is ready to implement the PBL?". As a response, an institutional diagnostic model regarding the adoption of PBL is proposed. From an opinion survey with 38 technical educational institutions in computing, involving 302 participants, the results showed that the model reached its objective, allowing the identification of favorable, warning, and critical points regarding the adoption of PBL in these institutions.
... The studies were analyzed in order to answer the four research questions outlined in Section III-A. To facilitate the understanding, the PBL methodology defined in [PS50] was used to categorize the results of the questions RQ3 and RQ4. This methodology is composed of five elements: 1) Problem; 2) Learning Environment; 3) Human Capital, that includes students, pedagogical team and market partners; 4) Content, as guide and support to solve problems; And 5) Processes, concerning educational objectives and assessment processes. ...
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