Exploring Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education: Case Studies About the Changing Roles of the Teacher and the Learner

Abstract

Problem-based learning or PBL, is a learner-centred approach that grew out of the traditions of experiential and guided discovery learning. This presentation describes a collective case study approach employing the construction of four vignettes that produce the data used in this study. The four vignettes emerging from bounded systems ranged from the adoption of a PBL approach in a university undergraduate program, a PBL course development in a fully online university undergraduate course, PBL used in a physically collocated setting along with technology in a developing country and, finally on the development of PBL objects (PBLOs). Preliminary findings indicate that PBL provides a high degree of flexibility in the procedures that are used by students and when these are complemented with synchronous technologies it allows for anywhere, anytime learning, leading to new understandings within a virtual learning community. PBL simultaneously creates transformative experiences that all educational stakeholders, students as well as instructors, must go through when they define and then attempt to solve ill-defined authentic problems in online higher education contexts. Finally, students tend to develop solid digital communication competences when working in an online learning environment, a formula that seems worthy of sharing with the academic community.

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Exploring Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education: Case Studies About the
Changing Roles of the Teacher and the Learner
Roland vanOostveen
EILAB.ca
Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Oshawa, ON, Canada
Roland.vanOostveen@uoit.ca
Ann-Louise Davidson
EILAB.ca
Department of Education, ETEC program, Concordia University
Montréal (Québec), Canada
ann-louise@education.concordia.ca
Nadia Naffi
David Price
Department of Education, ETEC program, Concordia University
Montréal (Québec), Canada
nadianaffi@gmail.com
dwprice@gmail.com
Todd Blayone
Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Oshawa, ON, Canada
todd.blayone@gmail.com
Abstract:
Problem-based learning or PBL, is a learner-centred approach that grew out of the
traditions of experiential and guided discovery learning. This presentation describes a collective
case study approach employing the construction of four vignettes that produce the data used in this study.
The four vignettes emerging from bounded systems ranged from the adoption of a PBL approach in a
university undergraduate program, a PBL course development in a fully online university undergraduate
course, PBL used in a physically collocated setting along with technology in a developing country and,
finally on the development of PBL objects (PBLOs). Preliminary findings indicate that PBL provides a
high degree of flexibility in the procedures that are used by students and when these are complemented
with synchronous technologies it allows for anywhere, anytime learning, leading to new understandings
within a virtual learning community. PBL simultaneously creates transformative experiences that all
educational stakeholders, students as well as instructors, must go through when they define and then
attempt to solve ill-defined authentic problems in online higher education contexts. Finally, students tend
to develop solid digital communication competences when working in an online learning environment, a
formula that seems worthy of sharing with the academic community.
Purpose:
The purpose of this presentation is to describe and analyze case studies regarding the use of
problem-based learning (PBL) in higher education. In order to do this, we will be reporting on multiple
instrumental case studies that focus on the changing roles of the teacher and the learner in various higher
education settings.
The merits and pitfalls of PBL have been widely documented in the literature since the 1970s.
While most studies generally support the superiority of PBL approaches, practitioners who try to

implement PBL in their classroom face significant challenges for a variety of factors including the change
of role from instructor to facilitator, the change in role of the student from passive recipient of
information to active constructor of knowledge and the focus on processes rather than on content. One of
the main issues covered in the literature is that problems used in PBL are usually implicitly defined.
Perspective:
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a learner-centered approach that was pioneered and used
extensively in medical education at McMaster University in the 1960s. The approach subsequently spread
across the world, initially in technical fields such as medicine and engineering, and then subsequently into
a plethora of niches. PBL is driven by providing an environment in which ill-defined and ill-structured
problems or situations are presented to students who usually try to solve in groups with teachers as a
facilitator (Haslett, 2001; Savin-Baden & Howell Major, 2010). According to several researchers, PBL
can be supplemented through the use of video case studies (Pedretti, Bencze, Hewitt, Romkey, & Jivraj,
2008; Kurz, Batarelo, & Middleton, 2009). One team that used a PBL approach for creating learning
objects, which they called problem-based learning objects (PBLOs), pointed out their usefulness in an
online learning environment (vanOostveen, Desjardins, Bullock, DiGuiseppe, & Robertson, 2010).
vanOostveen et al. (2010) suggested that PBLOs provided an environment which motivated students
because the students are allowed to define their own problems based on contexts presented in video-based
case studies as differentials between perceived current and desired situations. Students work to solve the
created problems as teams, through on-going interaction and collaboration.
PBL tends to foster more relevant learning outcomes, which includes developing a solid
knowledge base, developing collaborating skills (Hmelo-Silver, 2004; Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008)
and problem-solving skills (Barrows, 1985, 1986; Norman & Schmidt, 1992), because students have
control over their learning (Bandura, 1997). As a consequence of the perceived relevance, PBL also helps
students in becoming intrinsically motivated and engaged in self-directed learning (Barrows, 1985, 1986;
Norman & Schmidt, 1992). If the learner has to be an active participant and independent critical inquirer
of the learning experience, the teacher role also changes from a possessor of knowledge to a facilitator of
discussions, an enabler of learning opportunities (Savin-Baden & Howell Major, 2010; Savin-Baden,
2000).
Methodology:
According to Stake (1978), a case study can provide a better understanding of a complex
phenomenon because the reader can feel an epistemological harmony between the case being described
and their own experience. Cresswell (1998) argues that a case study is an exploration in one or several
bounded systems over time. It involves in-depth data collections from multiple sources of information.
To ensure robustness of our case study, we used Stake's (1995) approach to designing a collective
case study. According to Stake's classification, collective case studies allow researchers to coordinate data
from different sources. Our collective case study approach consisted of the construction of four vignettes
that produce the data used in this study. The four vignettes emerging from bounded systems ranged from
the adoption of a PBL approach in a university undergraduate program, a PBL course development in a
fully online university undergraduate course, PBL used face-to-face with technology in a developing
country and on the development of PBL objects (PBLOs).
Results, conclusions and/or interpretations:
The first vignette presents the Adult Education and Digital Technology (AEDT program at the
University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), which adopted a PBL framework from the
beginning of its existence (vanOostveen et al., 2015). Program accomplishments include the creation of a
vibrant online learning community formed through the use of the attributes and affordances provided
through the use of synchronous and asynchronous technologies and the PBL design orientation seems to
provide for rich and meaningful learning. Simultaneously some apparent weaknesses were revealed as
both professors and students struggled to make the required paradigmatic shifts.

The second vignette presents a study on the development of a fully online course in the AEDT
program at UOIT. Co-designing and co-teaching an online course in a PBL approach by two instructors
was a very positive experience. The instructors found that ensuring an online presence during the
synchronous tutorial time as well as prior to and following it required a lot of energy, but the fact that
there were two instructors doubled the support structure for students and helped them intervene more
efficiently. The feedback structure that was offered ensured student success. Finally, the PBL approach
used was fruitful, but both instructors recognized that it was possible students were not proficient in all
the topics we covered (Davidson & Naffi, 2015).
The third vignette will describes a study based on the use of PBL with a group of professors from
the Universidad Tecnica de Ambato, a remote university in the Andean mountains of Ecuador. This case
study demonstrates that once the professors developed basic technical skills with technology (iPads, in
this case), they were able to focus on the progressive pedagogical concepts and to innovate using the
principles of problem-based learning (Davidson, et al., 2015). Putting iPads in the hands of the
participants created a shift in how information and knowledge was perceived. At the end of the day, this
case study demonstrates that significant change in the field takes significant time and effort.
The final vignette presents a study on developing a framework for the production of video case
studies, referred to as problem-based learning objects or PBLOs, that have been used in online PBL
approaches (vanOostveen et al., 2010). In addition to the incorporation of video-based case studies, the
framework makes use of a series of questions that are intended to engage with the context or situation
described in the video, as well as a theoretical explanation of the context that is explicitly planned to
challenge the pre-conceived notions of the students. The PBLOs conclude with a series of questions that
provoke students to think about broader concepts than those explicitly addressed in the video and their
implications (vanOostveen et al., 2015). PBLOs become an invitation to discourse about problems and
solutions.
After presenting the vignettes individually, we will present emerging themes with regards to the
perspectives, the various approaches used and the challenges emerging from the cross-analysis of these
vignettes. The lessons learned from various practitioners in higher education who use PBL will be
presented.
Educational importance of the study:
PBL provides a high degree of flexibility in the procedures that are used by students. When these
are placed in online contexts this is complemented with a flexibility of access providing for anywhere,
anytime learning. This is a huge advantage for adult learners who are attempting to earn a degree while
conducting hectic daily schedules. PLB also allows for the development of close relationships that allow
for mutual support and the exchange of criticism leading to new understandings within a virtual learning
community. Students commonly comment on the relevance of PBL regarding what is learned, how it is
learned and their future career objectives. PBL simultaneously creates transformative experiences that all
educational stakeholders must go through when they define and then attempt to solve ill-defined authentic
problems in online higher education contexts. Finally, students tend to develop solid digital
communication competences when working in an online learning environment, a formula that seems
worthy of sharing with the academic community.
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