Problem Based Learning (PBL)

The education process is one that is always adapting to changes with other social- technological developments. Science and technology are getting into the mainstreams of most vocations, compared to arts and literature in the last two decades. Today; the focus is on how people learn; rather than how you teach people. Students are the central of the education system rather than teachers or their schools. As such a lot of researches has gone into the sciences and arts of learning.

In this modern and well connected world, how do you teach?  Most students are well connected (wireless devices), with information at their finger tips. Chances are they already know a lot about what the teacher wants to teach. So can you blame the student when they felt bored with the teaching, as if its a rerun of the mid night movies.

While this is going on the graduates produced by many teaching institutions like schools, colleges, and universities entering the job markets find themselves inadequate to work. They have to be retrained. As if there are big gaps between the teaching, learning and working.

Thus comes PBL. A very radical approach to teaching and learning. New paradigm shift in education.
Shifting from:

• Teacher centered to student centered
• Learning through real life problems rather than lectures
• Seeking information rather than getting information
• Working in groups rather than individual
• Less formal
• Facilitator instead of teacher

Please visit the Republic Polytechnic Singapore web page to learn more about PBL.They are one of the leading institution on PBL in this region. I was there last year in one of the international conference on problem based learning.

I have started using PBL in my Bachelor of Aviation Management classes since Jan 2009. The result is very encouraging. And in the longer term more programs will be delivered in this manner at UniKL MIAT. This will eventually reduce the gaps between university and the industry.