|
Open Page
Importance of problem-based learning
|
It takes more time and energy to deliver the content this way, but is very gratifying as it is interesting
|
Sudha Vidyasagar
Priya Narayanan’s suggestion regarding open book exams (Open Page, January 13) is very relevant in the context of evaluation. The aim of any open book exam is to stimulate thinking in a student and test his ability to seek and retrieve information .This is what we all do, later on in real life, in every field. To achieve this aim, not only should evaluation change, but the methods of learning also have to change.
At present, right from school to even professional colleges, the teacher has to “finish the portions” before the exam. Little thought is given to whether this system makes the student a self learner. Since the examination papers contain predominantly questions which demand only recall, the whole system is in perfect equilibrium except that the student who passes out in the end is a memory machine.
In contrast, problem based learning, which was started by McMaster University, uses the model of giving problems in the syllabus and encouraging active learning by the student. This model is closest to real life situations and has been adapted by prestigious colleges all over the world.
Let us take the example of the medical field which is what I am familiar with. Every patient comes to a doctor with a complaint. The doctor listens to what the patient has to say, examines him and orders tests, all with a single goal in mind: to find out what he is suffering from. In effect he is solving a problem applying his medical knowledge.
Of course experience fine-tunes all these processes, but solving problems is something doctors do all their lives. The emotional aspect of healing is yet another dimension, which demands empathy and understanding which are not easy to teach.
Application of knowledge
To make professionals good problem solvers, the curriculum too has to be delivered differently, emphasising application of knowledge. The teacher can construct problems in the subject which can be solved using principles which govern the subject matter. Learning points can be pointed out and reinforced.
This takes imagination and effort on the part of the teacher and clarity regarding what should be highlighted. It takes more time and energy to deliver the content this way, but is very gratifying as it is interesting and students cannot sleep off while discussing a problem! It is also better remembered as all of us recollect examples and use them as memory hooks to latch on our knowledge to.
The end product of this kind of learning will be an individual who can think things out in any situation. With the vast expansion of knowledge in every field, it is humanly impossible to remember every fact in one’s head.
Further with the internet revolutionising the availability of information, it is no longer necessary to strain one’s memory thus. It becomes more important to know what information is needed in a particular situation, and where to look for it. Learning should be tuned to this aim, and teachers and students have to align themselves to this goal.
Of course the examination system too has to change simultaneously. With the continuous emphasis on marks right from childhood, most students will not learn anything that does not fetch marks, which are considered the surrogate for one’s intelligence!
The evaluation thus drives the learning process, which is where the suggestion regarding open book exams is particularly relevant.
Further students must be encouraged, right from the school level, to question, discuss and apply facts and understand rather than mug up. The exams here too must be designed to test these abilities.
The resistance to change methods of teaching is more often with us teachers who are set in our old comfortable ways. We find it easy to teach in the lecture format, and set papers which demand mugged up answers (which we too know by heart), as any other system shakes us out of our comfort zones.
But in the interests of future professionals, it is time we tried to implement these to make the next generation of graduates and post graduates better than us.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Open Page
|
