Teacher Views on Implementing Problem-based Learning in the Social and Experimental Sciences
Summary
Problem-based Learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology that emphasises problem solving in a relevant real-life context, aiming to both motivate students and enhance the retention of facts by increasing the student’s sense of ownership. Six essential PBL elements were identified. We explored how these are viewed and used by teachers in the social and experimental sciences at an American high school and at an international school in the UK. The teachers were aware of the advantages claimed for PBL in the literature. However, they used the most fundamental aspect of PBL -presenting the students with a problem before theoretical background is taught- significantly less frequently than all other elements. The teachers’ main inhibitions to using PBL were time and curriculum constraints.