I heard about Problem Based Learning (PBL) years ago when I visited the Republic Polytechnic. Unlike the other four polytechnics in Singapore, the students at Republic Polytechnic do not follow traditional ways of learning. Instead of taking weekly lectures and tutorials for the modules registered, the students at the Republic Polytechnic meet their lecturers every morning for problem briefings and present their findings in the afternoon. I found the approach fascinating.

 

I had a taste of PBL these two weeks. Honestly, I did not quite get used to it.

 

The feeling is like getting thrown into the water with other kids from the same group to figure out how to swim together. We heard from each other’s interpretations/understandings of what digital literacies are, reasons why educators like me are reluctant to share our thoughts freely on virtual space and the potential consequences of lagging behind our students.

 

Like the student from the Republic Polytechnic, we are given a problem to discuss. We are told to present our findings that reflect our thoughts as a group. Discussing the topic is fine but making sure the discussions are focused enough to produce some consensus can be challenging. As members are from different backgrounds, our understanding of the topic is necessarily diverse. Naturally, we went off-tangent many times during our PBL meeting. I guess this is also where the beauty of PBL learning is all about.

 

I was fortunate to have a brief sharing session with my NUS facilitator Mr Alan Song. He assured me that the experience is normal and encouraged me to press on. Alan recommended a useful framework to follow in subsequent PBL group discussions. I like it so much and share it here with anyone who might find it useful.

Topic	Questions	Reflection results
Content	·       Did we achieve the intended learning outcomes?
Working method	·       Did we work according to the steps for the FISh model?  ·       Did we got stuck anywhere in the process?
Group dynamics	·       Looking back at the collaborative learning contract, did we follow what we decided? ·       Should we adjust anything in the contract or in the way we are working together?
Metacognition	·       How did I learn? ·       How does your prior knowledge affect your learning? ·       How is your motivation?

 

 

Despite the somewhat disorganized experience, I am getting to like PBL. The world won’t always be as structured as we design our module. PBL injects a dose of reality of learning in the real-world.