Transcript Designing Assignments

Designing Assignments
to Wrap-Up PBL Problems
Courtesy of Hal White
Workshop at Marymount University
May 9, 2003
PBL Problem Assignments
You have drafted a PBL problem for your
course.
It addresses important concepts in a
substantive context.
Students will learn, understand, and remember.
Why consider a PBL assignment separate from
a PBL problem?
Isn’t the problem the assignment?
Why Assignments?
...Accountability
What does it mean when a student says,
I understand?....
Does it mean the same thing to that student
that it does to another student
or to you, the professor?..…
How can students demonstrate their
understanding to you and others?
…and Closure
PBL problems are typically open-ended.
Student within a single group often pursue
different learning issues.
Students frequently have difficulty knowing
what the instructor thinks is important.
Assignments focus on central issues and
bring closure to PBL problems.
Activity for Everybody
Consider some of the PBL problems you
have encountered to date.
What are some examples of student
assignments from these problems?
You may contribute examples from other
sources as well.
Activity for Groups
Based on these examples and others,
generate a list of considerations that
would be appropriate when designing an
appropriate assignment to wrap-up a PBL
problem.
Considerations
for PBL Assignments
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Individual or group response?
Course/problem content objectives?
General education and PBL goals?
Graded or not?
Difficulty? (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Interest level for students?
Form of the response?
PBL Problem Assignments
Written assignments
Write a 2-3 page paper on a learning issue you
researched.
Critique this recent magazine article in terms of the
problem you have just finished.
Transform an experiment described in this article
into a laboratory exercise appropriate for
undergraduates.
Who is the audience in each case?
PBL Problem Assignments
Written assignments
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
on this issue.
Compose a 200 word abstract for the article you
have just read based on the Guidelines for
Authors in JBC.
Research a topic related to the course and write a
PBL problem for this course based on that topic.
Who is the audience in each case?
PBL Problem Assignments
Written and visual assignment
Create a website appropriate for high school
students on this topic.
PBL Problem Assignments
Written, oral, and visual assignments
Prepare a case for your position and present it to
the class as a debate.
Prepare a 15-minute informative talk on this topic
using PowerPoint slides.
PBL Problem Assignments
Visual Assignment
Prepare a concept map incorporating the major
issues related to this problem.
Concept Mapping:
An Instructional Tool to Organize
Content and Assess Student Learning
• What is a concept map?
• What are the features of a concept map?
• How do you construct a concept map?
• How do you use concept maps?
What is a Concept Map
“a general method with which one can
clarify and describe people’s ideas
about some topic in a graphical form”
Katsumoto 1997
a pictorial representation that shows
the relationships between and among
a connected set of concepts and ideas
Purposes for Concept Mapping
• Generate ideas (brainstorming)
• Design complex structures (long texts, websites)
• Communicate complex ideas
• Aid learning by explicitly integrating new and
old knowledge
• Assess understanding or diagnose
misunderstanding
Short Assignment
Arrange the following three terms
and connect them with arrows and
linking phrases
Bacteria
Pneumonia
Antibiotics
A Mini Concept Map
Caused by
Pneumonia
Bacteria
Antibiotics
CONCEPT MAP OF CONCEPT MAPPING
Ideas
Propositions
related
Study & Revision Aid
Linear Text
may
develop
by
Concepts
Classroom
Teachers
Metacognition
Concept Maps
suitable for
Research &
Assessment Tool
awareness
of
consists of
Learning
Processes
of
to assess
may
increase
Learning
Learning
Effectiveness
reveals
Misconceptions
Feelings &
Values
Enjoyment
Affective
Objectives
such as
improving
increasing
Motivation
Interest
Adapted from K. S. Taber (1994) Physics Education 29(5) 276-281
Where does Concept Mapping Fit Into PBL?
depends on
Individual
Accountability
Problem-Based
Learning
working on
reflected in
expected by
has
tied to
Grades
Faculty
Students
Society
Learning Goals
Content
Objectives
based on
Examinations
reflected in
Peer Evaluation
that address
and minimize
Academic
Dishonesty
Revision
informed by
Cooperative
Learning Groups
uses
Writing
Assignments
Group
Accountability
that are
including
Process
Skills
achieved with
Group
Assignments
should limit
Divide and Conquer
Strategies
Problems
such
as
Concept
Mapping
Real World
Open-ended
Complex
to promote
Individual
Learning
such as
Term Papers
PBL Problems
Case Studies
Peer Feedback
Scholarly Synthesis
Organization
Disciplinary Rhetoric
Student Voice
Library & Internet Resources
Leadership
Communication
Conflict Management
Sharing Information
Accepting Information
Peer Evaluation
A Concept Map Based on the Proposition:
Without the industrial chemical reduction of atmospheric
nitrogen, starvation would be rampant in third world countries.
Starvation
and Famine
FOOD
Deprivation leads to
Can be
limited by
Predicted by
Malthus 1819
Eastern
Europe
Population Growth
and
Contains
Climate
Such as in
Requiring more
Required
for
Protein
Politics
Human Health
and Survival
Includes
Essential Amino Acids
Economics
and
India
Made
by
Distribution
Animals
Grains
Legumes
Africa
Agricultural Practices
Such as
Eaten
by
Such as
Possess
Plants
Pesticides
Genetics &
Breeding
Herbicides
Fertilizer
Atmospheric N2
Haber
Process
NH3
Used for
Irrigation
Which significantly
supplements naturally
Required for
growth of
Symbiotic Bacteria
“Fixed” Nitrogen
That produce
Stages in the Construction
of a Concept Map
Brainstorming Stage
Organizing Stage
Layout Stage
Linking Stage
Revising Stage
Finalizing Stage
http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/teaching/ConceptMap.html
Designing Assignments
to Wrap-up PBL Problems
Assignments are an integral part of PBL
problems.
PBL assignments address issues of
accountability and closure.
In writing PBL problems, consider the
assignment carefully.
PBL assignments can have many forms.