Curriculum
Evaluating a problem-based learning curriculum requires consideration of the philosophy underpinning the learning and teaching that takes place within its delivery. There has been a great deal of discussion as to the merits of employing a whole course philosophy; an adapted or 'hybrid' approach for PBL; or at modular level as a learning and teaching methodology. It is evident that each has advantages and disadvantages and each deserve to be evaluated in their own right. It is therefore useful to begin with an explicit course profile, describing specific characteristics that may be significant to your design, the learning process and the outcomes. We recommend you include details such as:
- course delivery mode e.g. classroom-based, blended or distance learning
- student attendance e.g. full time or part time; work-based or campus-based
student - - - profile eg gender, age, disability, ethnicity, prior experience of learning
- course or module subject area
- year of study and level of study e.g. foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate
- whole course, 'hybrid approach', or one module PBL
Dangerfield et al identify primary criteria for evaluating the curriculum as being acceptability, effectiveness and efficiency or sustainability:
- acceptability includes how students, academics and support staff respond to PBL in general as a learning method; this may be influenced by factors such as whether PBL is a whole course or hybrid approach, initial understanding and expectations, preparatory skills development and support provided in relation to PBL methodology, student acceptance of collaborative group work, and academic staff approaches to 'facilitation of learning' rather than 'teaching'.
- effectiveness relates to how successful the curriculum is in enabling the student to develop knowledge, skills, understanding. This may include how appropriate the aims, learning outcomes and overall guidance are in enabling the student to develop relevant knowledge, skills and understanding for the stage of the course; the appropriateness of scenarios/triggers for achieving this learning, how interesting and manageable the learning activities are, and the alignment of assessment methods to ascertain whether expected learning has been realised.
- efficiency focuses on how cost-effective and therefore sustainable the curriculum is for students, academics and support staff in respective expenditure of time, effort, facilities and resources. This may include consideration of delivery in terms of its mode, and use of outcome measures such as cohort retention, achievement of course outcomes, indicators of lifelong learning, and comparison with similar non-PBL courses.
- does it facilitate learning that is contextual, cumulative, integrated, active, collaborative and reflective
- does it offer both group and individual learning opportunities, and formative as well as summative assessment
- does it facilitate the development of process skills that are both generic and transferable such as intellectual (academic study), affective (emotional intelligence) and social (communication) skills
- does it develop subject specific knowledge and skills, and the ability to transfer and deepen subject knowledge through horizontal and vertical integration.