Spagna02

Survey of good practices, experiences of PBL application in studying and initiatives in Spain

Confederacion Española de Centros de Enseñanza CECE-Spain

EUCLIDES – Enhancing the Use of Cooperative Learning to Increase Development of Science studies 134246-LLP-1-2007-IT-1-COMENIUS-CMP Grant Agreement 2007-3434/001-001 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Table of contents

What is PBL....................................................................................................3 PBL in Spain.................................................................................................. .4 Interviews with experts..................................................................................9 Good practices and experiences in Spain.....................................................16 Conclusions - SWOT ................................................................................. ...17 References.................................................................................................... 19

ICT use in Education Report  (Informe Tecnología CECE) www.cece.es  ................19 Informe eEspaña 2007, de la Fundación Orange  http://www.fundacionorange.es/areas/25_publicaciones/publi_251_7.asp ................19

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What is PBL Definitions “A learning method based on the principle of using problems as a starting point for the acquisition and integration of new knowledge.”

H.S.

Barrows 1982 Problem-solving - arriving at decisions based on prior Knowledge and reasoning Problem-based learning - the process of acquiring new knowledge based on recognition of a need to learn

What are the characteristics of PBL? •

Problems drive the curriculum; vehicles to develop skills

•

Problems are ill-structured; many possible solutions

•

Learners are responsible for their own education; increasingly independent of the teacher for their education.

•

Teacher provides materials and guidance that facilitate learning; coach, mentor, tutor role.

•

Learners work collaboratively in small groups to address the problem.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) emphasizes learning activities which are studentcentred, interdisciplinary, authentic, collaborative and foster higher order thinking. Students

construct

knowledge

and

develop

skills

in

problem

solving,

communication, cooperation, negotiation, and decision making. Teachers should change his mind from “expert” to “Facilitator”

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PBL in Spain

The Bologna Process aims to develop a European Higher Education Area (EHEA), involving a change in the University Studies syllabus, which have to be adapted to innovative teaching and learning processes based on

–

achieving specific knowledge according to the degree, and

–

developing abilities and skills to adapt that knowledge to the professional field of work.

Therefore, the methodology has to be focused in the learning process (the student and his learning capability) and not in the teaching process (the teacher). The Bologna Process aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which students can choose from a wide and transparent range of high quality courses and benefit from smooth recognition procedures. The Bologna Declaration , 19th June 1999, has put in motion a series of reforms needed to make European Higher Education more compatible and comparable, more competitive and more attractive for Europeans and for students and scholars from other continents. Reform was needed then and reform is still needed today if Europe is to match the performance of the best performing systems in the world, notably the United States

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and Asia. The three priorities of the Bologna process are: Introduction of the three cycle system (bachelor/master/doctorate), quality assurance and recognition of qualifications and periods of study. 9 years and no proper reforms and training has been done in Spain to prepare teachers for the imminent and radical changes that will be needed in the teaching methodology. The lack of preparation of our teachers to face such changes and

the

introduction of new syllabus will be a problem Teachers will be obliged to play roles for those who have not been adequately prepared Several pilot experiences of introduction of new syllabus based on the ECTS in Spain have demonstrated what happens when it skips abrupt and hastily to new system without adequate preparation of teachers and students:

–

Teachers maintains the traditional teaching, adding to it the demand of multiple tasks for students in order to implement ECTS

plans

without

considering

a

scientific

and

experimental

methodology to measure the real burden of work that these tasks are for their students.

–

Teachers are not aware of what these new tasks mean for a student if they have not done preparatory studies for conducting the calculation of the real burden. Rather often, they estimate the time of student’s work on the basis that the teacher believes that he would require to complete the activity.

–

In this way, teachers underestimate the burden of work that the new activities pose to the students.

–

The result is a simultaneous overload in the different subjects very difficult to assume for students.

The result of such overload work for students enrolled in the new pilot schemes ECTS has provoked the significant raise of the failure and dropouts rates and also the percentage of students who switch to other university studies. It is clear that the cause of this dysfunctional adaptation to the ECTS system is the fruit of the scant preparation of teachers that has not had the opportunity to experience the new methodologies nor experiment with their 5

students the real burden of work which involve the tasks entrusted to it. These experiences failed even if they are necessary to diagnose the problems. The question arose is: Do we want this to happen so widespread after 2010? To avoid a catastrophe of such dimensions and to promote the successful implementation of these changes in our university education system, a strong investment in the training of our teachers to adapt to their new role in the new EHEA is needed We only have 2 years to our teachers in the methodologies of active learning focused on the student that constitute the methodology proposed by the EHEA and which are unknown to most of the university Spaniards educators. Therefore, accelerated training schemes in active learning methodologies are absolutely needed. A successful EHEA implementation requires 1. Facilities (small classrooms and joint-work spaces). 2. The reorganization of the teaching structure: design and registration of new syllabus, new

subjects and coordination between administration and

educators. 3. A radical change in the mentality and attitude of the majority of teachers and students. 4. More information and training for teachers (skills). 5. More and better teachers’ performance with less overcrowded situation should be encouraged. 6. More encouragement and recognition to the good teaching, the end of the tolerance with poor and mediocre teaching

ICTs in School New web 2.0 allows technological changes in PBL, and new resources that can be used in a didactical point of view. •

Blogs: It can be very useful for the students assessment and monitoring

•

Wikis: it is an excellent tool for collaboration and team work.

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•

Social networks: It can be used as a new learning tool and relations help for PBL activities

•

Youtube: Potential in Creative and artist expression.

•

Docs share sites as: Goodocs, Zoho, slideshare. They can encourage new skills in the students

•

Online Community and collaboration tools: Ex Groove Workspace

•

Virtual

Documentation

and

Research

Centres

will

enhance

the

experimentation field and the possibilities to do teamwork with other colleagues all around the world •

RSS and Podcasts allow to follow up the students’ Work

ICTs in Spain •

Access to computers at school in Spain is lower than the average OCDE

•

Students and teachers still have only limited opportunity to use computers at school.

•

Only some innovative teachers use ICT in education and new learning methods as PBL in the classroom.

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REALITY: Main Facts •

Few or no introduction at all of the PBL methodology in the educational world, currently a 5%

•

9

years

since

the

Bologna

Process

(1999)

without

proper

reforms

implementation •

Lack of information and preparation of teachers for their adaptation to the new framework EHEA in 2010.

•

Only a minority of teachers is ready to implement the new methodology as part of the didactic innovation methodology. Most of them will do just because they are compelled by the new system.

•

The Spanish university system encourages research instead of good teaching

•

Teachers and institutions have to rise the occasion of these changes that will require an extraordinary effort (and still not recognized).

•

The implementation is not well approached, because they are just thinking on facilities and not in the human resources.

•

The education authorities do not recognize that teachers will have to work more.

•

Teachers have not been properly trained and students have not been informed about the changes.

Next Future 2010 •

In the next 12 years, until 2020. Spain will get holistic implementation but with a significant effort in training of trainers.

•

Generational change: The teachers’ age influences the implementation timing

•

The new private universities what implanted since the beginning without problems of universities publishes, changing the old to new system

•

Introduction of ICTs in every classrooms.

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Interviews with experts •

Alfredo Prieto Martín - Professor in Immunology at Alcalá University

•

Francisco Pareja - Escuelas Ave Maria

•

Pilar Antolín & Mª Dolores González - CNICE - Spanish National Centre for Educational Information and Communication

•

José Ignacio Mir Montes

- Erain School - Erain Ikastetxea

Interview with Alfredo Prieto 1. We (me and my teamwork) started to use PBL activities in 1997 due to the lack of Applied Research Laboratories, so it was the result of a deficiency. The Faculty responsible asked us to do practice activities but as we did not have any premises, our imagination conducted us to the PBL methodology. 2. 10 years performing PBL methodology, first with groups of 30-40 students and afterwards, due to a change of the syllabus, we were forced to deal with groups of 150 students (75 in morning class and 75 in evening class).

This

means a huge burden of work, because if you divide into groups of 5 persons, which implies to correct 30 exercises. 3. Therefore we were aware that the standard PBL methodology was prepared to work with small groups of 30 people and not for 150, and we realised that we could not carry out it. 4. For this reason, we decided to adapt the PBL methodology to our reality, translating a lot of the PBL activities out of the classroom, because the teacher was unable to handle with them. At classroom the teacher can handle with 6 groups but not with 30 groups. 5. To face this problem we tried with introduce some modifications:

A first

approach was to deal with the groups in asynchronic tutorships: the problem arose that 30 groups x 2 hours per group means at least 60 working hours. Conclusion, it turned out to be a high load of work for the teachers that could not accomplish. 6. Later on, we developed a second solution in order to improve the tutorships and do them more efficient and more time-effective. We therefore understood that the students needed a previous training in PBL: giving

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norms and specific instructions to become the tutorships part of the final student assessment. 7. This meant that the group did not come to the tutorships only for the doubts and questions but to showcase their first project draft, the solved doubts and problems and those they could not resolve. We used the tutorship to start to assess the different members of the group and to force the students to do self-training. 8. This methodology has achieved a great success so far. We call it ABP 4X4 because students work in 4 different scenarios: in the classroom, at home, in the tutorship and finally searching the documentation. We also call it 4X4 because the work is divided in 4 phases: 9. AIRE Methodology

–

Analysis. We raise the problem and the student do the initial analysis in which they try to define and delimitate the problem. Classroom Scenario

–

Research. Every individual has to look for his own sources of information to solve the problem. Search Scenario

–

Resolution: in which they integrate the information. This phase concerns home and tutorship scenarios

–

Evaluation and Presentation of the results: Classroom Scenario

10. These 4 phases are called with the acronym AIRE (for the initials in Spanish: Análisis, Investigación, Resolución, Evaluación). Aire means Air in English.

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Interview with Paco Pareja 1. Hello, my name is Francisco Pareja, and I am the Technology Responsible for Ave Maria Schools in Malaga, Spain and I am going to explain how my school has carried out the ICTs implementation e in Managerial and teaching process. 2. We have been 10 years implementing new ICTs in the School.

First step

with the email and Webpages. 3. Thanks to email, we started to contact with other schools in other European countries which participated as us in European Projects 4. We were pioneers , together with schools from France and Germany, in the use of Video conference in Education.

5. From then, we introduced the video conferences with other schools to promote the learning of foreign languages 6. After this experience, we started to promote the learning of the creation of web pages customized by the students, and participating in several online competitions.

The students started to create web pages as part of the

learning process in all the subjects. In many cases, they prepare their homework in related webpages explaining the studied issue. 7. As a Computer Technology teacher, I started to introduce the use of the mobile phone with education purposes. The students had to record their works through the mobile cameras and then they had to upload such videos to a specific and customised webpage. This webpage serves to collect all their annual works in order to monitor their performance and to allow their parents to follow up their children.

8. 3 years ago, throughout a special software called ViaEducativa, developed by a Technology company COSPA ,we started a continuous assessment of the students through the Internet: Attendant control, exams record, students monitoring etc

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9. All the teachers have a PDA in which they note all the data related to the students and the data is automatically transmitted to the Central unit to be processed. 10. This experience has given very positive results and feedbacks because the parents may know in real time their children progression and results through our Website access.

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Interview with Maria Dolores Gonzalez & Pilar Antolín 1. My name is Maria Dolores González and I am working in the CNICE Spanish National Centre for Educational Information and Communication belonging to the Ministry of Education in Spain. In the past, I have been responsible for E-Twining action and this year I work for the Multimedia Contents and Experimentation Department related to Science subjects 2. My name is Pilar Antolín and I am also working in the CNICE - Spanish National Centre for Educational Information and Communication belonging to the Ministry of Education in Spain. I work for the Multimedia Contents and Experimentation Department related to Foreign Languages

3. Descartes and Newton. (mathematics and physics) are the main ICT learning contents developed by the CNICE. 4. These multimedia Contents are increasingly used in the education centres, and teachers trained for them. They cover all the learning contents of the whole subjects of mathematics and physics in the different educational levels 5. Teachers learn to use these resources as part of its teaching methodology, along with the methodology of working with pupils in small groups. 6. The main problems arose are that students are not accustomed to the use of computer as part of the didactic way but as entertainment, they notice technology as part of a game. 7. With regard to the use of ICTs in other areas such as the teaching of languages, the CNICE used 2 forms: 8.

the use of materials and specific software for languages teaching and the use of internet for interacting with other schools and students from other countries and thus practise languages (school Twining).

9. In both ways, methodologies based in collaborative work to make lessons more interactive and hands-on approach 10. MAIN PROBLEM: is almost always the lack of technological resources in the classroom. In a large part of schools there are no computers in the

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classroom but a single multimedia classroom which makes difficult the implementation Interview with José Ignacio Mir Montes

1. Hello, my name is Jose Ignacio Mir, and I am the Headmaster of ERAIN School, in San Sebastian, Spain. I have been developing in the last 4 years an interesting project concerning the introduction of digital video in education. 2. There are several ways of utilization of the video in Education: The 2 main traditional ways to use the digital video in education are: –

to teach students it use addressed to the broadcasting and to develop audiovisuals works

–

or to promote

the digital video as part of the artist expression

learning 3. Our experience aimed to be innovative and did not follow these approaches. The ERAIN School approach is completely different, since it does not addressed to foster audiovisual creativity but the widespread use of digital video as a tool as part of the teaching- learning process.

4. For example in the elaboration of works of pupils of different subjects as a method of expression the video, exploiting all the advantages that the image has as a method of expression.

Instead of written works they can do

audiovisual works

5. We introduce the use of digital video in all the syllabus subjects, from science subjects to humanistic ones. In subjects like geography, doing audiovisual maps. In the case of Literature, for example with poetry, in this occasion, doing a video meanwhile they recite a poem.

6. This activity excites their enthusiasm for the beauty, because they have to express such beauty with his intonation reciting, the music and the chosen images. 7. We consider that this approach that suits better in our way of teaching and the teaching way that we feel more comfortable 8. FUTURE: They are focusing to share and to ameliorate the use of the digital 14

9. video library generated so far. The next step is to transmit such multimedia database to portable devises and to diffuse 10. We aim at its dissemination by internet through Online events video streaming,

11. We are building a Broadcasting Studio in order to facilitate it to the students to produce their works.

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Good practices and experiences in Spain Project

AUTHOR

Newton – Physics

CNICE http://newton.cnice.mec.es/

Descartes – Maths

CNICE http://descartes.cnice.mec.es/

Educational Video

Erain School http://www.erain.es/

Sciences Webs

Ave Maria Schools http://www.escuelasavemaria.com/

PBL – 4x4 (AIRE)

Alfredo Prieto http://www2.uah.es/problembasedlearning/ http://problembasedlearningpbl.blogspot.com/

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Conclusions - SWOT Features (own) Weaknesses

Situation (environment) Threats

Unfavourable

•

Requires more time to reduce the syllabus

•

Most of the teachers are comfortable with the current status

•

Requires lower educator/student rates

•

Most of the students are used to perform the minimum

•

Illiteracy of inductive methodologies

•

Education Responsible Authorities are not aware of changes

•

and necessity to be trained

•

Scant of classrooms and appropriated spaces for teamwork

•

Requires teachers and students eager to work

•

Teachers knowledge without didactic methodology

•

Requires Education authorities that understand the

•

Without economic incentives the teacher is not motivated

current situation

•

Universities overcrowds

•

Lack of an incentives and evaluation system

•

PBL methodology implies to deepen in the lessons but there is no time

•

It is necessary a teachers intergenerational change

to cover the whole syllabus. •

Teachers are adverse to changes

Strengths •

Knowledge building

•

Competences development: transversal and professional (teamwork, problem solving, communication skills etc…)

Favourable

•

Autonomous learning which foster LLL

•

The universities that implemented it in the last 40 years

Opportunities •

Knowledge Society does not need people to know by heart but people able to handle problematic situations

•

The new EHEA will value the competences and will foster the basic and transversals skills

•

It should be implemented from school to facilitate it later on Universities

are still using it. •

Students learn to learn

•

To foster PBL courses for teachers

•

It foster autonomous learning and boost LLL

•

PBL implies un “Teacher Mentality change”, from the “only Expert in

•

It helps to face problems and to knowledge building

Classroom” to become a “Facilitator”· •

Promotion of international Conference to disseminate the use of PBL methodologies

References

•

ICT use in Education Report (Informe Tecnología CECE) www.cece.es

•

Informe eEspaña 2007, de la Fundación Orange http://www.fundacionorange.es/areas/25_publicaciones/publi_251_7.asp

•

World information society report 2007 http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2007/ WISR07-summary.pdf

•

SIE_2007 Resumen-ejecutivo Telefonica http://www.telefonica.es/sociedaddelainformacion/pdf/informes/espana_ 2007/SIE_2007_resumen-ejecutivo.pdf

•

ICTs en Educacion 2005-2006 Red.es http://w3.cnice.mec.es/informacion/informe_TIC/TIC_abreviado.pdf

•

The Future of Learning in the Knowledge Society: Disruptive Changes for Europe by 2020 http://www.meaningprocessing.com/personalPages/tuomi/articles/TheFu tureOfLearningInTheKnowledgeSociety.pdf

•

Informe PISA (OCDE) http://www.oecd.org/document/25/0,3343,en_32252351_32235731_397 33465_1_1_1_1,00.html

•

EUROBAROMETER http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/eurobarometer/ind ex_en.htm

•

http://ldt.stanford.edu/~jeepark/SLL/outline.htm

•

http://usuarios.lycos.es/tenshian/index2.htm

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http://www.edutopia.org/

•

http://specialed.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=spec ialed&cdn=education&tm=18&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//co llege.hmco.com/education/pbl/background.html%23The%2520Basics

•

Savin-Baden, M. and K. Wilkie (2004).

•

Challenging Research into Problem-based learning. Buckingham: Open University Press. http://books.google.es/books?id=g2jO4LBDwScC&pg=PA225&dq=SavinBaden,+M.+and+K.+Wilkie+(2004).&sig=ACfU3U0wmPkV3_msDqsysENez w9XoMnfyw#PPA126,M1

•

CNICE- DESCARTES

•

XIII CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL EN TECNOLOGÍAS PARA LA EDUCACIÓN Y EL CONOCIMIENTO: LA WEB 2.0

•

¿CÓMO ENSEÑAR CIENCIAS?

•

PRINCIPALES TENDENCIAS Y PROPUESTAS (1997)

•

Tecnología Digital y Resolución de Problemas

•

Un ejemplo en Costa Rica, puede servir la forma de presentar el tema.

•

MATERIALES DIDÁCTICOS DIGITALES EN RED

•

PARA TRABAJAR EL CURRICULUM ESCOLAR

•

El PBL llegó a España hace años, ¿crees que estás al día en tus metodologías docentes?

•

http://www2.uah.es/problembasedlearning/

•

http://problembasedlearningpbl.blogspot.com/

•

http://es.youtube.com/user/CECEinEUROPE