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by Linda Torp and Sara Sage

This chapter examines issues related to developing a PBL initiative-large or small-in your school, university, or community. Many stakeholders are involved in a decision to use PBL-teacher, student, principal, department chair, curriculum coordinator, superintendent or chancellor, parent, or business or community partner. We address concerns or questions such stakeholders often have about PBL.

Why PBL?

John Abbott (1996) makes a strong argument for what he calls the "new competencies"-skills that go far beyond the 19th century basics taught in many schools. The "old competencies" of numeracy, literacy, calculation, and communication are still necessary to function in modern society; but they are not enough. For success in our ever-changing world, the ability to conceptualize problems and solutions is essential. Abbott asserts that the new competencies that must be nurtured and developed include the following:

Abstraction. The mental manipulation of thoughts and patterns in a purposive and ongoing manner.

Systems thinking. The ability to see the interrelatedness of things and the effect of parts upon the whole and the whole upon parts.

Experimentation. The questioning frame of mind that encourages hypothesizing, testing, and evaluating data.

Collaboration. The disposition to be open-minded and adaptable as we coconstruct knowledge together.

These competencies parallel the call for workplace know-how highlighted by the Secretary's Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) (U.S. Department of Labor, 1991). Built on a foundation of basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities, the SCANS competencies include the following:

Resources. Allocating time, money, and materials.

Interpersonal skills. Working on teams, leading others, negotiating, and showing tolerance.

Information. Acquiring, organizing, evaluating, and interpreting data.

Systems. Understanding social, organizational, and technological systems.

Technology. Selecting and applying technology appropriately.

PBL classrooms are learning communities where information and the construction of knowledge are collective activities. Students who gather, share, and add information to the knowledge pool assess the information for validity and integrate it as appropriate. Expertise grows among community members through dialogue, jigsaw, questioning, reciprocal teaching, and mentoring. Individual learners must then synthesize this knowledge into a holistic understanding of the problem at hand.
"Teaching for understanding" is a phrase heard frequently today in education, but student understanding is an elusive thing to define, let alone capture. Rebecca Simmons (1994), project manager for the Teaching for Understanding Project at Harvard, describes understanding in this way:

We want students to be able to employ knowledge in flexible and novel ways, to develop flexible networks of concepts, to use what they learn in school to understand the world around them, and to develop interest in lifelong intellectual pursuits. But to help students achieve such understanding is no mean feat. (p. 22)

Diann Musial and Liz Hammerman (1997) of Northern Illinois University describe the intimate perspective of PBL learners:

The problem-based learner tends to develop mental patterns that are highly connected to the richness of the problem situation. Such understanding is highly integrated and linked to a variety of real-world situations, perspectives, disciplines, etc. Such learners are able to answer essay questions not only in terms of the definition of terms; they are able to elaborate on the meaning of important ideas and add nuances that are connected to the real world. This is so, not because they have read about those connections, but because they have experienced the connections firsthand. (p. 6) (emphasis in original)

The challenge of higher education in the face of an information explosion, as well as the demands of the high-performance workplace, has clearly established a need to prepare our students for an increasingly complex environment. Problem solving and the higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are not learned through direct instruction. They emerge from the direct experience of doing. PBL provides that experience.

How Do We Know That PBL Works?

PBL has a rich history in professional schools (medical, dental, nursing, engineering, and business) going back decades. Research conducted to assess the effectiveness of PBL programs cites certain benefits, including increased motivation, sustained self-directed learning behaviors, long-term knowledge retention, comparable content coverage with traditional approaches, learning for understanding, and the development of professional reasoning strategies (Albanese & Mitchell, 1993; Eck & Mathews, 2000; Hendley, 1996; Vernon & Blake, 1993). Although interesting, this research is not what K-16 teachers, administrators, and parents want to know. Their bottom-line question, "Will it work for my students?" is one that in the end they must answer for themselves.

PBL has been used at the K-16 levels for several years. Anecdotal evidence is highly supportive. Teachers consistently report increased student engagement in the learning process, increased student responsibility for learning, and deeper levels of understanding. Library and media specialists report that students use more library materials, develop effective search strategies, and gain in information literacy. Principals report that discipline referrals and absenteeism decrease. Parents report hearing about what is happening at school without having to ask.

In today's educational climate, one key concern is to do no harm. Two middle grade teachers, Karoline Krynock and Louise Robb (1996), investigated a perennial question posed about any educational innovation: Can students gain the same or greater depth and breadth of knowledge through a problem-based unit as through a standard unit? In a rigorous study, they compared four sections of science classes-two standard, two PBL-on content achievement in a genetics unit in the 8th grade curriculum. Teaching strategies and the curriculum organization differed, but the content was identical. The researchers used and scored a common instrument to assess content achievement or attainment. These results were compared against district-administered standardized test scores aggregated by class. All four classes were directly comparable on this standardized measure of intellectual ability, but the PBL classes scored slightly higher on the genetics content assessment.

The PBL classes were assigned to research a messy, ill-structured problem and provide evidence to support their conclusions. They had to write a persuasive position paper and present their conclusions before a panel of professionals knowledgeable in the field of behavioral genetics. During the problem debriefing, students went beyond the testable material and reported that they learned how to do the following:

Investigate a complex issue.

Collaborate with peers as learning colleagues in groups.

Look beyond print material for information and contact experts directly.

Present their information to a panel of experts.

Take a position and defend their conclusions using data.

Think about multiple solutions instead of jumping to conclusions.

Although this study was well done and is highly regarded (winner of a state-level research award), the important issues here go beyond the study results. These educators are not only able to describe their program clearly to parents, students, and administrators, but also to answer the deeper questions of What works? and How do we know?
Richard Dods (1996), a science/chemistry teacher, writes:

Although process is emphasized [in PBL], content is not lost. Ongoing action research studies [in his course] compare students who have experienced PBL biochemistry with those who have experienced biochemistry in an interactive questioning format. Results suggest that the PBL biochemistry approach promotes deeper understanding of biochemical content and longer-term recall of content than the interactive questioning format. (p. 228)

Dods believes that a student's "problem-based frame of mind" provides a web of understanding that meaningfully connects individual pieces of content. These connections enable access and recall through multiple avenues that support deeper levels of understanding.

What About PBL and Standards?

Although some educators (e.g., Kanstoroom & Finn, 1999) believe that constructivist educational methods fly in the face of academic standards, we do not find common sense in that argument. We find the key to achieving standards for all students comes not in restricting how teachers teach, but in setting common goals for students. Constructivist and traditional classroom structures may both be used toward this end:

State and local curriculums address what students learn. Constructivism, as an approach to education, addresses how students learn. The constructivist teacher, in mediating students' learning, blends the what with the how. (Brooks, M. G., and Brooks, 1999, p. 22) (emphasis in original)

Standards can help set benchmarks for students at various levels and encourage high expectations for all students (Glickman, 2000). However, standards can also artificially narrow the range of knowledge, skills, and dispositions we expect from students of various ages. One of the greatest difficulties comes when measurement of student progress toward standards comes from just a single test score, often the state standardized test (Glickman, 2000; Kohn, 2000). Certainly most standardized tests are not designed to assess many of the documented benefits of PBL, like self-directed learning, critical thinking, integrative knowledge, and so on. We are convinced that, as states implement their academic standards, evidence will show that strategies like PBL are even more supportive of achievement than lecture, discussion, and worksheets. This connection is already provable in medical education. We are not convinced, however, that any single measurement-particularly standardized tests-shows the added benefits students gain from PBL.

That said, we understand that teachers across the United States must demonstrate alignment of their curriculum and instruction with standards. When we work with teachers to design problems, we begin with learner characteristics and desired curriculum outcomes. In effect, teachers design PBL experiences around specific standards.

In a middle school class (Sage, Krynock, & Robb, 2000), the teachers aligned their PBL unit with several student and teacher science standards. The problem, examining what should be done with improperly maintained prairie areas on the school campus, enabled students to achieve several national science standards, including:

By the end of 8th grade, students should know that . . . in any particular environment, the growth and survival of organisms depends on the physical conditions. (American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, Project 2061, 1993, p. 117)

By the end of 8th grade, students should:

Question claims based on vague attributions.

Notice and criticize the reasoning in arguments in which fact and opinion are intermingled. (AAAS, 1993, p. 299)

The two teachers' work in this interdisciplinary, problem-based English and science class correlates with one of the National Research Council's (1996) standards for teachers:

[Teachers] work together as colleagues within and across disciplines and grade levels. . . . Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers focus and support inquiries while interacting with students. (p. 32)

Using PBL in mathematics aligns beautifully with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (2000) standards for students and teachers, as well (e.g., Alper, Fendel, Fraser, & Resek, 1996; Erickson, 1999; Sage, Kochanowski, & Shafii-Mousavi, 2001). One of the NCTM standards is problem solving. Teachers are encouraged to help students build the disposition to be analytic and persistent in complex situations. They can do this work by "asking questions that help students find the mathematics in their worlds and experiences and by encouraging students to persist with interesting but challenging problems" (NCTM, 2000, p. 52). Sounds like PBL! Here is an example of a brief PBL experience from the NCTM (2000) standards:

A task for middle-grades students presents data about two ambulance companies and asks which company is more reliable. . . . A quick answer found by looking at the average time customers had to wait for each company turns out to be misleading. A more careful mathematical analysis involving plotting response times versus time of day reveals a different solution. (p. 52)

Standards in the humanities are readily accomplished using PBL as well. One example is Indiana's 10th grade reading comprehension standard #2 (Indiana State Board of Education, 2000, p. 2):

Analyze the structure and format of various informational documents and explain how authors use the features to achieve their purposes.

Example: Analyze an advertisement that has been made to look like the informational newspaper or magazine text around it. Explain why the advertisement would be designed this way and evaluate its effectiveness.

This scenario could easily become PBL, perhaps by placing students in the role of advertising teams designing an ad campaign for a new drug targeted at senior citizens. In creating their various advertisements, students would look at other similar ads in which the above structure is used. They would have to weigh the ethics of such an approach as they design their own ads.

In the National Standards for Social Studies Teachers (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 1997), as one example, teachers of young children are encouraged to meet standards in Strand VI (Power, Authority, and Governance) by exploring the current governance structures in their school. One kindergarten teacher we worked with aligned a problem with this standard by encouraging students to examine the current lost and found policy in their school to see how efficient, equitable, and fair it was. She knew this problem would be appropriate early in the year because kindergarten students often lose their belongings! They presented their findings to the principal, who changed the policy accordingly.

What About PBL and Technology?

In addition to the standards mentioned, schools are implementing local and national technology standards (see, for example, the National Educational Technology Standards for Students [International Society for Technology in Education, 2000]). PBL is a natural fit for helping students meet technology standards (Sage, 2000a). Technology is critical to PBL in several ways. It can be used as a tool and resource for inquiry, as a collaboration aid, as curriculum, and as assessment. Figure 8.1 gives examples.

Figure 8.1. PBL and Technology Connections

First, sources like the Internet and online reference materials are invaluable when students are researching a problem. For example, students can access demographic information on any county in the United States from the U.S. Census Bureau Web site ( www.census.gov). This information is important for a number of different kinds of problems. Internet and online resources are often helpful, graphics-oriented resources during PBL inquiry for non-readers, beginning readers, or ESL students. In its work with low-achieving urban students, Success Lab Learning Centers (Torp, 2000) use authentic Web-based data and expository information about topics of interest to these particular students-chewing gum, ice cream, sporting event statistics, athletic performance, local heroes, and current events-as the organizing focus for PBL work that targets study, research, and information literacy skills. In addition, Stepien, Senn, and Stepien (2000) have developed a number of problem-based learning units that specifically incorporate Internet resources.

Specific software can also help students in their problem-solving work. One of our favorites is Inspiration ( www.inspiration.com), which was used to develop a number of the maps and webs in this book. Students can use such visual organizer software to "map" their growing and changing understanding of a problem. Teachers could use students' pre-and post-maps of a problem as one form of assessment. Teachers can also use Inspiration while designing problems to create maps of possibility, as discussed in Chapter 5. Specialized software related to particular discipline-based concepts (such as RAMAS EcoLab, which John Thompson used to model predator-prey dynamics during the wolf problem described in Chapter 6) may be used as one form of instruction during problem solving. Students may also use presentation software such as PowerPoint or HyperStudio to display their results to an expert panel.

Second, increasing numbers of Web-based problems may be appropriate curriculum for your students. One Web site for such problems is the Center for Problem-Based Learning at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy ( www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl). Several Web-based problems suitable for middle and high school students are available there, including The Case of the Wrongful Projections developed by Bernard C. Hollister ( www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/learning/lincoln/Bernie1-FS.html), which presents students with the dilemma of President Lincoln's incorrect U.S. population projections for the 20th century. Another problem available there is the Buffalo Commons problem ( www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/learning/buffalo). This PBL problem guides students, who are role-playing members of a presidential commission, to a number of Web sites that help them consider whether or not land in the central plains should be deprivatized for use as a buffalo commons. The Appendix lists other sites with Web-based problems.

Third, technology may be used as assessment in PBL. For example, students in a technology course can assume the role of course designers to create a computer-based learning program. Students could, as technology consultants, set up and monitor an e-mail listserver or Web site on a particular issue. The opportunities for classroom teachers and technology specialists to collaborate on problems that delve into both academic content issues and authentic technology use are endless!

Finally, online course programs allow for many collaboration options with PBL. Programs such as Oncourse ( http://oncourse.indiana.edu) allow teachers to post documents, schedules, and syllabi online, as well as to set up small-group asynchronous discussions or chat rooms. These online group structures are particularly helpful for PBL when groups need time to problem-solve outside of class. In one recent instructional technology course at Indiana University, students used a previously developed online course tool in a challenging PBL unit learned and taught completely online (Orrill, 2000; Sage, 2000b). Although we personally believe such programs will not, and should not, ever completely replace face-to-face classes and in-person coaching, they allow numerous opportunities for teachers to post questions and information online and for students to have more opportunities for group dialogue.

What Are the Potential Barriers to PBL Adoption?

We find that most educators with whom we work recognize the importance of PBL to increase student motivation to deeper levels of understanding. Yet the "coverage" mantra still dominates many areas, often because our major evaluation instruments drive curriculum choices. Many teachers face restrictive schedules or other structures that work against the time necessary for student engagement and teaching for understanding. Teachers also express frustration with a lack of time during the school day for designing new problems.

Educators also fear change because of school norms that perpetuate the status quo. Some teachers feel they are out on a limb using PBL in their classes. As one middle school teacher reported overhearing another teacher say, "Where are the worksheets? Where are the tests? . . . They [students] are laughing, they're having fun, they're running around wanting to do research; what is this?"

Teachers and teaching teams who recognize any or all of these obstacles within their schools work proactively to build and nurture support among colleagues and community. Many have enlisted parents as both allies and resources for PBL units. Others tap the knowledge and expertise of school colleagues to serve as mentors in problem inquiries. Although innovation and change can ignite fears and create barriers, communication and openness reveal unseen possibilities. Here are examples of ways to communicate (Sage, Krynock, & Robb, 2000):

Explaining PBL and providing resources for various stakeholders (see the following section, "How Can I Explain PBL to Parents and the Community?").

Clearly aligning PBL experiences with standards (see the previous section, "What About PBL and Standards?").

Designing problems carefully to consider students' developmental characteristics, interests, and issues (e.g., Beane, 1993), so that students are engaged and effective problem-solvers.

Providing appropriate support for students new to PBL so they have a successful learning experience.

Debriefing with students and parents after a PBL experience about what students have learned. (Several teachers we know use their class newsletter or the school newsletter to share information both about the problem itself and what students have learned, including specific learning objectives and standards.)

Involving as many stakeholders as possible in the PBL process (see the following section, "How Can I Explain PBL to Parents and the Community?").

Locating a support system of like-minded PBL teachers and schools (see Appendix).

Another essential component is support from administrators-support for PBL as well as support provided through resources and assistance with accessing appropriate information. We find most principals eager to support innovations that enhance student learning.
How Can I Explain PBL to Parents and the Community?

PBL may be very different from the instruction that many of us experienced in our own schooling. In our current standards and testing culture, some parents and community members may have concerns about teachers and schools deviating from more traditional methods of instruction. We have consistently found, however, that parents, administrators, school board members, and community members are impressed when they learn more about PBL, particularly if they have the opportunity to observe students at work.

Encouraging these stakeholders to be involved in PBL as guest speakers with expertise on the problem topic, or as members of a panel to which students present their solutions, can be powerful ways to engender community understanding and support for PBL. Nearly always, adults are impressed with the seriousness with which students approach the problem, with their knowledge, and with the entire PBL philosophy. Community members we've worked with believe that K-12 schools and undergraduate institutions should be doing more of this type of instruction to prepare students for their eventual place in an information-driven, problem-centered, collaborative work world.

Several simple sentences that may help you share PBL with people totally unfamiliar with the approach are given here:

"PBL makes school learning more like real-world learning."

"PBL helps students learn the same content-just in a different way."

"Besides learning content, PBL has additional valuable components like helping learners collaborate, problem-solve, make presentations, and talk with experts-many of the things they'll be doing as adults."

"PBL motivates many students to dig deeper and get 'hooked' into issues; they may actually want to go to the library or go online to get more information!"

"Think about the times in your life when you have really learned something. Often this learning is related to a problem you were facing. The PBL approach encourages students to learn because they want or need to solve a problem, too."

"Students don't ask, 'Why do I need to know this?' in PBL. The answer is clear: They need to know it to solve the problem."

Schools now have a number of resources available for sharing within their communities information about PBL. This book and others (e.g., Delisle, 1997) are rich resources for people who want detailed information. ASCD also has the helpful Problem-Based Learning Series (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997), which includes two videos with a facilitator guide. Another excellent video is Problem-Based Learning: Three Classrooms in Action (Center for Problem-Based Learning, 1997), available from the Center for Problem-Based Learning at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy ( http://www.imsa.edu/team/cpbl/products/videos.html).
What Does It Take to Become a Teacher of PBL?

We have found that PBL requires a facility to use a coaching style that preservice and inservice experiences often do not address. As an ongoing part of our professional development activities, we asked teachers to reflect on what they were learning about teaching PBL (Sage & Torp, 1997) and concluded the following:

Making the transition from teacher as information-giver to teacher as coach is challenging and requires learning new skills. Teachers discussed giving up the idea that they had to be the experts. Some found it difficult to let go of the sense of control and predictability typical in more traditional instruction; eventually most teachers came to realize that, as a middle school teacher put it, "Not only do I need to let go, I need to stay there [to provide support to students]." Teachers also learned in their role as coach how to question students' thinking and to challenge students to support their conclusions. One staff development coordinator said, "We learned that we needed to focus our language on the language of thinking."

Designing problem scenarios requires a sound understanding of problem-based learning, curriculum, and authentic assessment. Teachers wrestled with the design of problem scenarios as they worked to integrate required curriculum outcomes and incorporate the teaching and assessment of meaningful skills throughout the problem. Considering what content their problems would address also challenged teachers to consider essential knowledge of disciplines rather than automatically using textbook-defined content. As teachers designed assessments, they had to consider how to use them so that the assessment measured student thinking and guided, but did not limit, learning. Teachers also found they were teaching skills, such as writing business letters, in more authentic ways-that is, teaching in the context of the problem rather than in isolation.

Learning in a PBL environment is exciting for students and rewarding for teachers. Teachers found that seeing what students could do led them to trust their students more. Lisa Nicholson, a special education instructor, said, "PBL has proven to me that if you don't give the kids limitations and if you overlook their disabilities, PBL gives them the chance to learn the way they need to learn." Teachers believed that because PBL encourages students to explore information in different ways-such as through print, telephone, and the Internet-and to learn about authentic problems, PBL was also a motivating strategy for students with varied learning styles and strengths.

We have discovered that teachers of PBL benefit from multiple supports, including active support in their schools from administrators and other teachers. Team teaching has been an effective method of support. If other teachers in the building are not implementing PBL, then teachers need a network of other practitioners with whom to share ideas and find help. The Center for Problem-Based Learning has established such a network for teachers as well as an electronic mail list (see Appendix). This networking is particularly critical for more experienced PBL practitioners to communicate with others who have similar concerns (Gibbons, 1995).
We have found that teachers don't always fully buy in to PBL, particularly to their role as coaches, until they've tried it and seen how powerful the experience is for their students. Teachers find it particularly helpful to see as many examples as possible of PBL problems other teachers at their level have designed and implemented. We have also found that using PBL to teach PBL is essential, so that teachers experience PBL as learners first (Sage & Torp, 1997; Sage, 2001). Like any effective learning experience for students, teachers also benefit from a collaborative climate of learning challenges and appropriate support (see Figure 8.2).

In Closing

For PBL practitioners, PBL's effectiveness is unquestionable. These educators point to many positive effects:

Students turned off by more traditional approaches emerge as active, engaged learners.

Students can talk about a topic in depth-not simply answer factual questions.

Students ask for targeted lessons about what they need to know to solve a problem.

Students ask good questions that reflect an understanding deeper than any response shows.

Students know how to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.

And, of course, students learn and perform well on content tests.

Problem-based learning has been used in urban and rural settings; with elementary, secondary, college-level, and professional students; with reluctant learners; and with eager learners-in short, with students of all abilities and ages in almost every subject area. PBL consistently receives high marks from students, parents, and administrators whenever the teacher is motivated and well versed in PBL techniques. PBL exposes solid, demanding content; engages students at an emotional level; and fosters skills needed in a complex world. Teachers can use PBL as a curriculum organizer and instructional strategy whenever learning goals demand deeper understandings-whether occasionally or frequently-in tandem with other strategies. We believe PBL is a powerful technique that all teachers should have in their repertoire for the 21st century.

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How Do You Support Problem-Based Learning?

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by Linda Torp and Sara Sage This chapter examines issues related to developing a PBL initiative-large or small-in your school, university, or community. Many stakeholders are involved in a decision to use PBL-teacher, student, principal, department chair, curriculum coordinator, superintendent or chancellor, parent, or business or community partner.

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High School Leaders Set the Stage for PBL

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High School Leaders Set the Stage for PBL

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How School Leaders Set the Stage for PBL Success

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What does the effective implementation of project-based learning (PBL) look like within a school or across an entire system? There's no one right answer, according to superintendents and school leaders who have started down this path. Some leaders want to see wall-to-wall PBL, with students learning mainly through projects in every subject.