- Title
- Making the change to PBL: what it takes
- Creator
- Binti Wan Muhd Zin, W.; Williams, A. P.; Sher, W.
- Relation
- Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (AAEE 2015). Proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (Geelong, Vic. 06-09 December, 2015) p. 795-804
- Publisher
- Australasian Association for Engineering Education
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Background or context: Problem-based learning (PBL) has become widely used in many professional education settings. In several countries in Asia (including Singapore and Malaysia) engineering educators are adopting PBL as a teaching and learning strategy. This brings with it a range of new experiences and challenges for teachers and students. Making the change to a PBL approach from a traditional approach to teaching engineering is not a simple task; it requires planning and preparation if it is going to be a truly successful transition. In a higher education context one of the most important resources is staff; in the case of PBL, staffs need to be equipped to confront the issues which arise from implementing a new curricula and instructional model. Purpose or goal: This paper reports on the findings of an ongoing study of the experiences of academic staff in German Malaysian Institute (GMI), Malaysia. This study explores teachers' challenges, and support needs in the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in engineering. Approach: The exploratory study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with twenty PBL facilitators. The analysis of data was undertaken using a framework of thematic analysis. Through the examination of the staff's related experiences it is possible to gain valuable insights into the means to enable successful implementation of PBL. Discussion: It became evident with this group of facilitators that staff development programmes were vitally important to the successful implementation of PBL. This highlights the importance of engaging staff in activities that equip them for both delivering PBL courses and for sustaining them. Findings have also revealed the importance of appropriate support from the management and colleagues in order to make PBL implementation a success. Recommendations/implications/conclusion: These papers reports on the findings of staff reflections on the challenges they face in facilitating PBL effectively, and provides a practical insight into staff support and develop needs.
- Subject
- problem based learning; higher education; engineering; teaching
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1328710
- Identifier
- uon:25977
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780730000419
- Language
- eng
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