Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in the Foreign Language Classroom
by Clark J. Nelson
Clark_Nelson@dps.cudenver.edu
February 1998
Introduction
In this paper, I will first describe what PBL is and define the roles of students and teachers in PBL activities. I will then demonstrate how PBL, or at least aspects thereof, can be incorporated into foreign language classes. Finally, I’ll provide a bibliography of several resources on PBL, both in print and on the internet. It is my intent to share information about PBL which can help other foreign language instructors add to their repertoire of what I like to call "cognitively-correct" activities. The intent of this paper is not to give a full how–to for PBL activities, but rather provide foreign language teachers with some background and many resources for further exploration.
What is PBL?
Problem-Based Learning is an instructional methodology which is based on presenting the students an "ill-defined" problem for which they are to collaboratively research and propose potential solutions. PBL has been extensively used in the field of medicine, but is now being used in many fields and at all ages. Key professional problems serve as the stimulus and focus for student activity (Boud & Feletti, 1991). PBL helps students learn skills and strategies in addition to content. For example, students find themselves learning research skills, time management, self-directed learning, transferring knowledge, and other lifelong learning skills while finding information to solve the problem. In PBL, the students are presented with authentic ill-structured problems before they receive instruction. They then must learn the content and skills necessary for solving the problem through collaborative research, discussion, and strategic planning. Content learning and skills occur as natural consequences of solving problems, similar to the way people learn on the job. In PBL, students take on the positions of executives, producers, designers, planners, scientists, doctors, historians, and so on.
An ill-defined problem is a problem with multiple possible solutions. In this way, students encounter different ways to approach a problem or solution and discuss these with other students and groups. The students should not initially know all of the information needed to solve the problem or propose a solution. They must continually be seeking out more information, possibly even redefining the problem. Learners "probe deeply into issues searching for connections, grappling with complexity, and using knowledge to fashion solutions." (Stepien & Gallagher, 1993) It is also helpful to have problems that have some form of product for the solution proposal. This product can be a good portfolio piece. A product could be a model, a poster, a proposal, a paper, a song, a videotape, etc. In the process of problem-solving, the students will encounter a variety of disciplines in addition to just one subject content area.
The role of the teacher
The teacher's initial role in PBL is to develop realistic and authentic problems and materials. These may include memos, letters, charts, articles, etc. that present the ill-structured problem in a realistic way. The teacher presents the materials, then acts as a model, "thinking aloud with students and practicing behavior they want their students to use." (Stepien & Gallagher, 1993)
The teacher poses metacognitive questions to keep the students thinking about what they are learning and how: What do we need to know more about? Where did you find that information? What searching strategies did you use on the internet to locate that fact? How did your team effectively communicate? The key for the teacher lies in answering questions with more questions, pushing the students to find information and solutions on their own. Increasingly, then, the teacher fades into the background while students engage in solving the problem. The teacher can help direct the students to information which will answer their questions, but should not answer the questions per se. "Control––typically exerted by the teacher over class time, objectives, and content––manifests itself differently in problem-based learning. The primary mechanism for the teacher to exercise control of the learning situation is the selection and crafting of the problems. What questions should students be asking in the course? What problems will provoke them to raise those questions?" (Wilkerson & Feletti) The questions the teacher poses are the key to stimulate student inquiry. These questions help focus the students on certain issues and push them to think about how they are learning. If we, as teachers, focus on content and do not address what we are doing as a means for language learning (which can be transferred to other language learning situations), we neglect this very important element, metacognition.
The role of the student
The students take on the role of whatever person is solving the problem. They must generate a list of learning issues (what they need to know or learn in order to complete the task). Whenever a new learning issue arises, the students must create an action plan for tackling this issue. Once all of these issues have been investigated and solutions have been proposed, students assess their own performance in fulfilling the goals of their action plans: determining what they know and do not know, predicting outcomes, planning ahead and setting time lines, efficiently apportioning time and cognitive resources, effectively working collaboratively towards a common goal, and monitoring their efforts to learn or solve a problem. (Wilkerson & Feletti, 1989)
An example
A frequently cited example of PBL happens to be in the domain of foreign language. In a course in German, third-year students arrive in class one day to find a letter from the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda (written in German). The letter, dated 1938, addresses the students as "Gallery Directors" who must review their art collection and discard that which is "degenerate." Degenerate art will no longer be tolerated in Germany. The gallery owners--the students--face severe sanctions if they do not weed out paintings, statues, and photographs that are contrary to the vision and purpose of art held by the government officials. The German teacher asks his students: "Was müssen wir wissen?" (What must we know?)
As the situation unfolds, the gallery owners share what they know about the Nazis but soon recognize that they need to know much more. The teacher mentions sources they can consult about the philosophy of the Nazi movement. An art teacher visits the gallery to talk about the works of art. Students must then evaluate the entire collection of twenty pieces, each depicted on a separate 35mm slide.
Based upon research into the events of the late 1930s in Germany, the students judge that 10 pieces in the collection might actually be considered degenerate. Now they must ask: What should we do about the 10 items? What penalties might we face if we do not remove them? Is it right for the government to demand this? Is there any way to negotiate with the Nazis? Are the items worth saving in the face of the risk to us? (Stepien & Gallagher, 1993)
This is an example found frequently in PBL literature, but I will also cite a few different examples, that could be used with various levels of language learners below.
PBL in a foreign language class?
Many of you are probably thinking: 'What the heck does this have to do with my foreign language classes? You couldn't possibly use any of this with beginners! Or, how can PBL help me teach the students the past participles?' Well, PBL can in fact be used in the foreign language classroom, and at many different levels. But first of all, here is my theory behind it all.
Raise your hand if you've told someone you were a foreign language teacher and they said "Oh yeah? I took (language x) in high school, all I remember is 'Jacques is tall' or 'Bonjour."
In most foreign language classrooms, the focus is on the content: the parts of the body, transportation, food, houses and furniture, the future tense, etc. With PBL, we can still structure problems which will lead students to such content, but in a way that fosters lifelong language learning skills which can be transferred to all languages.
I have often wondered why it is that students seem to always find the wrong words when they are working on open-ended activities like making skits. Last year I suddenly realized that I had never "formally" been taught how to properly use a German/English, English/German dictionary. That is, being sure to read the phonetic guide at the front, to know exactly what all of the symbols mean and how the entries are structured. I had a powerful metacognitive moment when I discovered that if I focused on these specific things, I could not only improve my searching skills for creating materials for students, but also for learning other languages. I realized that my students, would of course, not know these things either. I decided that it is more powerful for them to know how to find this information, and accurately, than necessarily to focus on content. So this became the first precursor to getting started with PBL in my German classes: the students must know how to properly use the dictionary so that they find the right words, and know how to figure out pronunciation. Once that was established, we could take off.
So the first premise is: you will not cover as wide a curriculum, but it will be much more deep, and the students will learn skills with which they can continue to learn foreign languages their entire lives.The second premise is that your students will have more control over the actual vocabulary they learn, because they must determine what vocabulary they need to know! Most of us will never be extremely fluent in another language, even if we study hard for many years or live in another country for extended periods of time, there will always be words and terms we don't know, perhaps grammatical features we don't use correctly, and room for growth. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we have bag of tricks for finding new words correctly, learning them, and remembering them.
Now before anyone gets too disheveled (and I can see you are already!), remember that this PBL is just one of the many tools that should be used in foreign language instruction. Total Physical Response (TPR), when properly executed (which it rarely is), is in my mind perhaps the most effective way to begin foreign language instruction. But PBL can be used later in the course, interspersed with other activities, to foster an independent learner who can locate resources, find words, figure out pronunciation, and learn at their own pace. So now the big question on your mind is: How?
Some potential activities:
The Skiing Vacation
This problem can be started with a letter or post card, in the language, inviting the students (a family) to a skiing vacation in the target country. The students must first comprehend the post card (dictionary usage!), then prepare themselves for the trip by finding out all the relevant vocabulary they would need (at least for the skiing part). The students break up into families and research the area, the potential costs, the exchange rate, and mostly, all of the words for skiing and ski gear that are necessary to be well-prepared for the trip. Now, of course, none of this is told to the students, they are to figure this out themselves, by discussing the letter and defining the problem. They must then do research, compile lists of words using dictionaries or the internet, and create their own learning activities in order to learn these words (draw pictures to match the German words, do their own TPR lesson, etc.) A number of other activities can be combined under the auspices of a PBL activity! Of course, the idea behind this lesson can be used to think of all kinds of other similar ones: the summer vacation, the trip to the beach, etc.
The Silent Video
The instructor brings the students a letter from a video production company saying "we need a soundtrack for this short video." The video can be 10 minutes or less and from wherever you like (I make my own). The students must view the video, interpret what is going on, and then find language to support what is being shown visually. In addition to learning the language necessary, they must figure out a few technical things, like working a cassette player or doing an audio dub onto videotape. I like to use this one, because each group will come up with something different. In this way, most groups will come up with similar vocabulary, but in different ways. While working on this, students encounter various grammatical aspects which they must research, as well as pronunciation, vocabulary, and more. These can be extremely simple to very elaborate and difficult. The video can even focus on curricular aspects such as special vocabulary, prepositions, or other special grammatical features. Students have an opportunity to be creative, add music and titles, and have a lot of fun while learning. Such activities are highly motivating for students.
Multimedia Design Corporation
The students receive a memo from the president of a certain multimedia design corporation requesting that they produce an interactive multimedia demonstration on transportation in the target language. Students must determine which words to include, work with graphics, text, and audio, as well as multimedia. I have done this and it worked well. Again, these take time, and you have to be willing to sacrifice some of our too wide curriculum for more depth!
(A HyperStudio example is available, using the HyperStudio plugin, on the web at http://www/programs/distancelearning/cecgerman/projects.html )
Website Design Corporation
The students are presented with a mandate from the CEO to produce a website magazine about their school in the target language. Students must gain valuable knowledge in web servers, web design and linguistic skills. At the beginner level, students could be asked to produce a website with clickable TPR movies or animations--which they determine themselves! Which verbs are the most important? Which nouns are important to learn?
General PBL activity structure
The general PBL activity is structured as follows:
•The teacher presents the authentic materials which introduce an ill-structured problem.
•The students sift through the documents and attempt to get a handle on the situation.
•The students fill in a four-column sheet with a scribe at the chalkboard and a tutor probing with questions. The tutor will likely be the teacher at first, and students after the teacher has modeled being a tutor for some time. The four columns include:
*Ideas, hypotheses--causes/effects
*Facts--things students already know, prior knowledge
*Learning Issues--what students need to know to complete the task
*Action plan--what students will do to complete the task
•The students revisit the problem and check to be sure all agree on the definition of the problem.
•Students begin assigning tasks and gathering information to work toward a solution.
•Each time students meet they update each other, sift through information, reassign tasks.
•The instructor asks students metacognitive questions and assists in helping students find resources that answer their questions.
•Students present their solutions and reflect on their work, abilities, and teamwork.
•Self-evaluation
Again, these examples are simply ideas to get you started, thinking about formulating open-ended, ill-structured problems. Some of these problems are perhaps more structured than others, and I have only provided a cursory view of the potential and application of these problems.
Conclusion
PBL can be a valuable addition to a foreign language teacher's repertoire of activities that are focused on long-term linguistic goals and lifelong learning skills. In a society with information doubling every 5.5 years, rapidly changing technological and job opportunities, vastly expanding world markets and communications due to the internet, we need to prepare students not just to know how to speak in another language, but also to independently learn to communicate in other languages. The parable goes: "If you give a person a fish, she has a meal for a day. If you teach a person to fish, she has a meal for life." I take this to mean, if I teach a person some German, she'll know some German. If I teach her how to learn another language, she'll be able to learn whatever language she wants or needs to in the future!
Bibliography
Boud, D., & Feletti, G. (Eds.) (1991). The challenge of problem based learning. London: St. Martin's Press
Gallagher, S.A., Stepien, W.J., (1993). Problem-Based Learning: As Authentic as It Gets. Educational Leadership, April 1993. 25-28.
Wilkerson, L., & Feletti, G. (1989). Problem-based learning: One approach to increasing student participation. In A. F. Lucus (Ed.), The department chairperson's role in enhancing college teaching. New directions for teaching and learning, no 37. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Other resources:
From a PBL BIBLIOGRAPHY by Joanna Dunlap, PhD. University of Colorado at Denver
Albanese, M. A., & Mitchell, S. (1993). Problem-based learning: A review of literature on its outcomes and implementation issues. Academic Medicine. 68(1), 52-81.
Barrows, H. S. (1986). A taxonomy of problem-based learning methods. Medical Education. 20(6), 481-486.
Blumberg, P., & Michael, J. A. (1992). Development of self-directed learning behaviors in a partially teacher-directed problem-based learning curriculum. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. :(1), 3-8.
Blumberg, P., Michael, J. A., & Zeitz, H. (1990). Roles of Student-Generated Learning Issues in Problem-Based Learning. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2(3), 149-154.
Dunlap, J. C. (1996). The relationship of problem-based learning to life-long learning. -Unpublished manuscript.
Gallagher, S. A., Stepien, W. J., & Rosenthal, H. (1992). The Effects of Problem-Based
Learning On Problem Solving. Gifted Child Quarterly. 36(4!. 195-200.
Gijselaers, W. (1995). Perspectives on problem-based learning. In W. Gijselaers, D. Tempelaar, P. Keizer, J. Blommaert, E. Bernard, & H. Kasper (Eds.), Educational innovation in economics and business administration: The case of problem-based learning (pp. 39-52). Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Martin, W. M., Murphy, M. J., & Muth, R. (1993). Problem-Based Learning: A New Approach to Preparing School Leaders. In Hoyle, J. R., & Estes, D. M. (Eds), NCPEA: In a New Voice (pp. 141-154). Technomic Publishing Co., Inc.
Moust, J. H. C., DeVolder, M. L., & Nuy, H. J. P. (1989). Peer teaching and higher level
cognitive learning outcomes in problem-based learning. Higher Education. 18, 737-742.
Norman, G., & Schmidt, H. G. (1992). The psychological basis of problem-based learning. Academic Medicine. 67(9), 557-565.
Ryan, G. (1993). Student Perceptions about Self-directed Learning in a Professional Course Implementing Problem-based Learning. Studies in Higher Education. 18(1), 53-63.
Savery, J., & Duffy, T. (1995). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. In B. G. Wilson (Ed.), Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design (pp. 135-148). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, Inc.
Schmidt, H. G. (1993). Foundations of problem-based learning: Some explanatory notes. Medical Education. 27(5), 422-433.
Schmidt, H. G. (1995). Problem-based learning: An introduction. Instructional Science. 22. 247-250.
Schmidt, H. G. (Ed.) (1995). Special Issue Problem-based Learning. Instructional Science. 22(4). (Abstracts and tables only)
Schmidt, H. G., Lipkin Jr., M., deVries, M. W., & Greep, J. M. (Eds.) (1989). New
Directions for Medical Education. Springer-Verlag. (Selected Chapters)
Schmidt, H. G. (1983). Problem-based learning: Rationale and description. Medical
Education. 17. 11-16.
Shin, J. H., Hayes, R. B., & Johnston, M. E. (1993). Effect of problem-based, self-directed undergraduate education on life-long learning. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 148(6), 969-976.
Sorbal, D. T. (1995). The problem-based learning approach as an enhancement factor of personal meaningfulness of learning. Higher Education. 29. 93-101.
Stinson, J. E., & Milter, R. G. (1995). The enabling impact of information technology: The case of the Ohio University MBA. CSCL '95 proceedings (World Wide Web posting). Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Walton, H. J., & Matthews, M. B. (1989). Essentials of problem-based learning. Medical Education. 23. 542-558.
Vernon, D. T. A., & Blake, R. L. (1993). Does Problem-based Learning Work? A
Meta-analysis of Evaluative Research. Academic Medicine. 68(7), 550-563.
CONSTRUCTIVIST BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1989). Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. In L. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing. learning. and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser. Lawrence Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ, 361-392.
Bransford, J. D., Sherwood, R., Hasselbring, T., Kinzer, C., & Williams, S. (1990).
Anchored instruction: Why we need it and how technology can help. In D. Nix & R. Spiro (Eds.), Cognition. education. and multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology (pp. 115-142). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Brown, A. L., & Palincsar, A. S. (1989). Guided, cooperative learning and individual
knowledge acquisition. In L. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing. learning. and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 393-451.
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of
learning. Educational Researcher. 18 (1), 32-42.
Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (1993). Stolen Knowledge. Educational Technology. March, 10
Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University (1993). The Jasper Experiment: Using Video To Furnish Real-World Problem-Solving Contexts. Arithmetic Teacher. April, 474-478.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing. learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 453-494). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Harley, S. (1993). Situated Learning and Classroom Instruction. Educational Technology, March, 46-51.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1991). Higher levels of agency for children in knowledge building: A challenge for the design of new knowledge media. The Journal of the Learning Sciences. 1(1), 37-68.
Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., McLean, R. S., Swallow, J., & Woodruff, E. (1989).
Computer-supported intentional learning environments. Journal of Educational Computing Research. 5(1), 51-68.
Tripp, S. D. (1993). Theories, Traditions, and Situated Learning. Educational Technology. March, 71-77.
Winn, W. (1993). Instructional Design and Situated Learning: Paradox or Partnership? Educational Technology. March, 16-21.
Wittrock, M. C. (1974). Learning as a generative process. Educational Psychologist. 11. 87-95.
Internet resources: (from http://164.92.26.37/pbl.html)
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/home.html
CSU Faculty Development Institute on Distributed Course Delivery for Problem-Based Learning
http://www.siumed.edu/pblc/index.html
SIU School of Medicine Problem-Based Learning
http://www.physics.udel.edu/~pbl
PBL at U of Delaware
http://www-civil.eng.monash.edu.au/pbl-list/papers.htm
PBL and Engineering Education (Australia)
http://ddsdx.uthscsa.edu/pblist/pblisthome.html
PBL in Health Care- the PBLIST Home Page
http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/cpbl.html
Center for PBL
http://www.cvm.msstate.edu/pbl/pbl_home.html
College of Veterinary Medicine @ Miss. State University
http://www.cs.su.oz.au/~clacko/teaching/PBL.html
PBL Resources
http://cotf.edu/ETE/teacher/tprob/teacherout.html
NASA's Exploring the Environment Teachers' Notes on PBL
http://138.5.161.199/vc/vc43/leted2.html
Student comment on PBL
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/home.html
CSU Faculty Development Institute on Distributed Course Delivery for PBL
http://www.utmb.edu/meo/f0000003.htm
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING: A PARADIGM SHIFT OR A PASSING FAD?
http://www.cs.su.oz.au/~clacko/teaching/pbl.summary.html
Problem Based Learning: An instructional model and its constructivist
framework
http://www.sedl.org/aan/pbl.html
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) [more resources]
http://www.sedl.org/aan/problems.html
Developing Problems for PBL
gopher://gopher.medlib.iupui.edu:70/11c:/iuinfo/pblist
PBList Archives (gopher)[doesn't seem to work too well]
http://www.ctap2.bcoe.butte.k12.ca.us/Benoit/Sample/nigeria/nigeria.html
Sample Web-based PBL activity on Nigeria
http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/instruct/Bisonproj/pblacknowl.html
Buffalo Commons Problem (an example of a PBL activity)
http://www.umuc.edu/iuc/cmc96/
Some papers
PBL in Foreign Language, Clark J. Nelson
page#