Ineke's Minute Paper

FIEL assignment 1

Sitting on the beach in Sarasota, Florida, I found myself transported back into the class room as I read several articles on problem-based learning. The warm breeze, the beautiful beach, and the soothing ocean waves allowed me to reflect on my teaching without anxiety. What’s more, the setting suggested an unencumbered examination of old and new methods of teaching and learning. So, here are my reflections on the readings.

Problem-based learning is "active, interactive, and collaborative learning" facilitated by an instructor who provides the students with "learning opportunities" whose goals are "at least partly determined by the students themselves" (De Gallow, 1). It proposes to teach content through skills, the skills of historians–students must think of themselves as the practitioners of the historian’s craft–they will learn to "do history" as historians do history. What do historians do? They create a believable picture of the past by finding, selecting, and analyzing primary sources which they find in archives and other collections. After much reading and reflecting, they recreate in writing a time and a place in which long dead persons in a meaningful way act upon motivations attributed to them by their "practitioners." The work of the historian is mostly solitary and often lonely. It is rarely collaborative. It is active and interactive once we are ready to share our work at conferences and during the publication process.

What do I like about the readings? I recognize that I already incorporate problem-based learning in my 200 and 400 level classes when I ask the students to group together for an analysis of an historical document (the case), to discuss their findings among themselves, and to present their insights to the class for further discussion. The cases represent the "complex, real-world challenges common to the discipline being studied" (De Gallow, 1). The students "made meaning" rather than "collected facts." The group achieved greater insight than students individually might achieve. (Rhem, 1).

With PBL, an interesting dilemma suggests itself. Most people believe that we study history to avoid the mistakes of the past. However, we study history not necessarily to understand what went wrong, who was responsible, or how we can do better. Such an approach has a speculative "if only" quality about it and suggests simplistic solutions. It assumes certain actions inevitably led to a negative outcome which could and should have been avoided. It also assumes that progress is a rational expectation. Historians now shy away from grand theories about the reasons for the Renaissance or the causes for the "fall" of Rome. With "the problem comes first" approach (White, 1), I will need to construct problems for History 101, Survey of Western Civilization, without falling into the trap described above, i.e. the simplistic and speculative approach to complex historical issues.

As historians we seek to understand and explain the past on its own terms. The sixteenth century is NOT the twenty-first century; yet, the questions we ask of the past are informed by our present-day context. However, the human experience is one shared by actors past, present, and future.

OK, to wrap up, what questions remain? (Is this ever a PBL exercise if ever I saw one!) Dan’s hypothetical case study suggests that

a) The instructor must have realistic expectations and standards. If it took her a decade to acquire the practitioner’s skills, her students cannot be expected to use these skills effectively over the course of one semester (White, 5). How does one set realistic expectations? What kinds of standards are appropriate? Look at department’s set of required outcomes.

b) Seeing the students as practitioners of our craft is all good and well, but what are the implications of this approach? Must we not allow a "peer review" process of assessment and evaluation? When our students are our apprentices, we must become their mentors. Our professional values and obligations must be shared with them. (Thus I can see why this approach worked in medical school.)

Internet sources consulted (from E. Birmingham’s website):

De Gallow, "What is Problem-Based Learning?"

Rhem, James, "Problem-Based Learning: An Introduction."

Reedy, Chandra, "Art History."

White, Harold B., "Dan Tries Problem-Based Learning: A Case Study."

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