#elpc

One of the most interesting tours I have taken in Pittsburgh – also offers a spectacular view.  Back in June of 2012 I happened to be at East Liberty Presbyterian Church they day they were offering a tour of the entire church – all the way up to the very top.

I am sure I took some photos of East Liberty from the top of the church, but I can’t find them.  It took some digging – but I found one of…

Right?

My home life is absolute hell, and color guard is the only thing that is stable in my life.

My mom thinks I am only doing guard to avoid her, which is not true, but it's turning out to be a great option since she is going crazy on me every day now. 

At guard practice I feel loved, and I feel safe. I am comfortable enough to actually eat at least one meal, and the more I am at home, the more I honestly want to go back to cutting myself. 

Color guard has honestly saved my life in the past, and it is my saving grace again now. 

And now my mom is screaming at me saying that she wants me to switch schools or get kicked out of the house because she doesn't want to live in our house anymore. When she talked about moving in the past, it was always within 20 minutes, but now she says "I am never here to help her" so she doesn't care if she will make it impossible for me to go to school. Because, you know, staying at home 5 days a week, and only leaving the house on the weekends doesn't help her at all.

and I am panicking, and need someone to talk too, if I can't have color guard in my life, I don't know what I will do. 

ELPC Research Journal Summary Critique

M.T.

Metacognition or also known as ‘thinking about thinking’ continues to remain an accepted axiom of the traditional classroom educational process today.  In this summary, I wanted to compare the effectiveness of established lecture-based learning methods against the introduction of problem-based learning, or (PBL), which has steadily grown in acceptance as an effective learning process since the late 70’s (Savin-Baden 2000, p 2) in which people acquire knowledge.  The teaching process of PBL is primarily based upon is the principle of using problems as an initial starting point for acquisition of new knowledge (Lambros 2004, p 1).   

In my view, whether we like it or not, most critical-thinking involves problem-solving. Life, in broad terms is a problem-solving exercise, as we face daily decisions that we react to and our thinking influences our decisions.  Problem solving can engage students in developing deep understanding and applying ideas to real-world situations (Killen 2003, p 174). As a pre-service teacher, it’s my aim to ensure my teaching is effective and targeted. 

As I examined this topic further, it became apparent that problem-based learning has been met with guarded acceptance, as well as controversy.  PBL is not without its critics. A well-known case involved the School of Medicine staff at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.  After a five-year study of their traditional curriculum reform PBL was shelved, as PBL appeared to be ‘time wasting and inefficient’. However, after a 1992 PBL seminar at Harvard University attended by several of Flinders Medical School staff, they eventually adopted PBL in to the curriculum (Schwartz 2001, p 15).

Although not a world-wide endorsement of PBL, a full 125 medical schools in the U.S. report an element of PBL in their curriculums (Lambros 2004, p. 86). My immediate notion is to further investigate PBL and its varied uses in the high school classroom environment. 

In North America, McMaster University in Toronto in 1969 marked the first PBL medical curriculum to be established.  The University of New Mexico was the first to adopt a medical PBL curriculum in the United States, and Mercer University School of Medicine in Georgia was the first United States medical school to embrace PBL as its only curricular offering (Donner, 1993).

The Australian Dental Association has seen the benefits of PBL as compared to their conventional methods of education.  Since about 2001, all of the dental schools in Australia have introduced PBL into their curriculums (Winning and Townsend 2007, p 3). 

Students do not learn inside a vacuum and my reasons for promoting PBL vs. lecture-based learning stems from my belief learning is enhanced by a collaborative and socially engaged forum, rather than solely based upon individual activities. This approach is supported by Lev Vygotsky, a noted social-cultural theorist; proposed learning is an activity that is socially and culturally interacted with others (Churchill 2011, p 77).

Group-paced problem solving form the basis of my argument that PBL can be an accepted and effective method of learning and acquiring new knowledge.  Small group-work is a hallmark of PBL’s learning approach and this lends itself well to a collaborative learning environment (Lambros 2004, p 5). Also, group work tends to make the individuals in the group more accountable to the others, and this can lead to a sense of responsibility.

Another important point about PBL’s possible negative effects is the realisation of group grades.  With the emphasis on group work, do all the participants in the group perform the same level of output into the finished product? (White 2002, p 196). This is an important consideration when comparing structured classes and assignments within the framework of standard designed curriculum.

In several ways, I consider our Secondary Teaching Studies (STS) course curriculum similar to PBL, as we were assigned a lesson plan tasking to complete, however, no lecture-based outline of its final product was offered.  We were encouraged to work amongst groups if we desired.  The students compared notes at our tutorial sessions at Ginnanderra College each Thursday. 

In one of my Grade 10 Geography classes at my Prac teaching school, the mentor teacher has formed groups to complete a Power Point presentation, complete with narration and outlines.  All the groups have their outlines tasking, but no final product to view to make a comparison if they are on track or not.  I consider this a good example of PBL in action.

In conclusion, I feel a beneficial outcome of problem-based learning is life-long learning processes.  Students are able to hone group-skills, be able to speak in front of groups or an audience and form persuasive arguments that will stay with them for years.   

I can foresee PBL becoming even a greater force in the future.  With the rapid advances in technology and ICT in particular, students have a greater opportunity than ever to collaborate on-line thru services such as Google, Windows Live, and Yahoo Mail and so on. Traditional classes required face-to-face meetings, but with the expanded capability of the internet, this may become a thing of the past (Cheaney and Ingebritsen 2005, p 3).

There’s even problem-solving software written to assist students capture and practice problem-solving skills (Duffy 2005, p 198). I believe the future is bright for problem-based learning systems - now, and into the future.

References

Cheaney, J and Ingebritsen, T. (2005). Problem-based study in an online course: A case study.  Viewed 28 April 2011, http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/267/433

Churchill, R … [et al]. (2011). Teaching, making a difference.  (1st ed.) John Wiley and Sons, Australia.

Donner, R and Bickley, H. (1993). Problem-based learning in American medical education: an overview. Viewed 6 May 2011, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC225793/

Duffy, M … [et al]. (2005). Teaching and learning with technology. (2nd ed.)  Pearson, Boston, MA.

Killen, R. (2003). Effective teaching strategies, lessons from research and practise.  (3rd ed.)  Thomson Social Science Press, Australia.

Lambros, A. (2004). Problem-based learning in middle school and high school classrooms. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California.

Savery and Duffy. (2001) Problem Based Learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Viewed 4 May 2011, http://www.dirkdavis.net/cbu/edu524/resources/Problem%20based%20learning%20An%20instructional%20model%20and%20its%20constructivist%20framework.pdf

Savin-Baden, M. (2000). Problem-based learning in higher education: Untold stories.  Open University Press, Buckingham, England.

Schwartz, P… [et al.] (Ed.) (2001). Problem-based learning, case studies, experience and practise.  Kogan Page, London.

White, H. (2002). Problem-based learning, writing and individual accountability in problem-based learning. Viewed on 6 May 2011, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bmb.2002.494030030074/pdf

Teaching is almost an esoteric art. Although it is a profession, it also shares a similarity with trades insofar as much can be learned from on the job experience. With curriculum, policy, a support hierarchy and a solid and increasing wealth of scholarly research, the variables that occur within the teacher/student/classroom dynamic are too numerous to capture.

I teach because I want to be involved in shaping the future of Australia and that future comes from our students. It can be debated about the success of multiculturalism in Australia but our schools are nonetheless full of cultural and societal diversity which bring their own positives and negatives.

I believe students best learn in a positive environment where they feel safe and are not afraid to ask questions. This comes from having an effective relationship with the school, the teacher and their peers. My goal is to create this environment and to shape students into independent, confident, analytical thinkers who can thrive in a modern, technological society.

Problem … what problem?

As metacognitive skills and learning concepts evolved over the decades through intensive research, many competing theories emerged regarding diverse ways people learn and acquire knowledge.  Earlier theories on cognitive development are well known and often cited today.

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development is often referred to as the social cultural theory (Wells 1999). This term echoes the view learning and development is not simply a process of increased mental awareness, but is also facilitated through social and cultural interactions. 1  In other words, a central tenet of Vygotsky’s theory was based upon child cognitive development - how children grow into the culture in which they belong. 2     

He believed that the new knowledge and skills are beyond what the learner already knows well and can accomplish alone, but within a range that the learner can perform with help and support. 3  Vygotsky described this as the zone of proximal development (ZPD).  This theory developed into the now well-known scaffolding learning paradigm. 4

Another recent and influential education initiative that’s gained traction is problem- based learning (PBL).  This approach to learning and problem solving  5 and been adopted by Bannockburn primary school in Victoria, Australia.  PBL is considered a fresh direction in pedagogical learning styles - however, it is not without its critics. Why has PBL gathered such a following? Who is using PBL and why? Is PBL getting it right with ICT integration? The next post will examine this a bit further.

[1] Churchill (2011). Teaching, making a difference.  Pg. 77.

[2] Ibid. Pg. 77

[3] P. Gardenfors, P. Johansson (2005). Cognition, education, and communication technology. Pg. 86.

[4] Churchill (2011). Teaching, making a difference.  Pg. 76