- Title
- Students' and teachers' perceptions of effective PBL facilitation in engineering education in Malaysia
- Creator
- binti Wan Muhd Zin, Wan Hamiza
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2017
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Problem-based learning (PBL) is becoming widely used in many professional education settings, including in engineering education. PBL, as a teaching approach, is claimed to stimulate the students’ higher order thinking, encourage discussion and exploration, enhance problem solving skills and stimulate the learners’ interest. PBL, as presented in the literature, supports a shift from teacher-directed learning to teacher-facilitated learning. PBL facilitation involves a different style of teaching, and from the experiences of both the students and teachers brings several challenges. A skilled facilitator who is secure in their role can contribute significantly to PBL group work, and thus to the students’ learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of what constitutes effective PBL facilitation in engineering education in Malaysia. A qualitative research methodology was employed. Specifically, twenty teachers were interviewed, and thirty students were interviewed in focus groups. Their views were sought on the roles of effective PBL facilitators, the characteristics of effective PBL facilitation, the changes in the teachers’ facilitation styles as the students progressed in the PBL curricula and the challenges that the teachers faced in facilitating PBL. Institute A’s PBL documents were also analysed as secondary data sources. Using thematic analyses, a series of themes emerged from the data concerning the attributes of effective PBL facilitation. They included a combination of the teacher as a process expert in facilitating learning, a content expert who skilfully uses their knowledge, a technical expert who imparts technical knowledge and skills to the students, as well a teacher with positive personality attributes. This study also established that the facilitation styles of teachers depend on the level of the programme being taught, as well as the level of the students’ understanding in each individual group. Teachers learn when to regulate their facilitation as PBL courses progress. However, the importance of the teachers’ personality attributes, as supporters and motivators of the students’ learning, carries the same weight for all levels of students, regardless of whether they are novices or of advanced standing. This study found that the major challenges that teachers face in facilitating PBL include their adaptation to PBL, the students’ adaptation to PBL , the PBL trainings for teachers and the support teachers received from their managers and colleagues. The recommendations for institutional managers include well-organised and structured orientation programs for teachers new to PBL and a thorough PBL orientation for students. A PBL Support Group should be formed to provide continuous support for the teachers. Evidence from this study also showed that it is critical that adequate learning resources and sufficient time be allowed for the students to complete the self-directed learning required for PBL. The findings from the study should contribute to improving the effectiveness of PBL as a learning and teaching strategy in engineering education at Institute A, as well as nationally and internationally.
- Subject
- problem based learning; PBL; PBL facilitation; engineering education; effective PBL facilitation
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1333531
- Identifier
- uon:27098
- Rights
- Copyright 2017 Wan Hamiza binti Wan Muhd Zin
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 91 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |