IMPLEMENTING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN A COMPUTER-MEDIATED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT


ABSTRACT

The last few years have seen an emergence of online teaching/learning in the educational scene. For practitioners of problem-based learning, the question arises as to whether the online learning environment will be able to support problem-based learning. This paper seeks to address this issue by showing how problem based learning principles have been implemented in a pilot online course on Business Communication Skills. It describes the key elements of the course (problem-based learning, interaction, collaborative learning, flexibility, learner centeredness, and cognitive strategies) and discusses the effectiveness of the online medium for problem-based learning.


KEYWORDS

Problem-based learning; online learning; computer-mediated communication; constructivist; business communication

INTRODUCTION
It is believed that instruction today faces two challenges: one comes from the changing perception of what learning is all about and the other from the new learning opportunities presented by technology. (Tam 2000). This paper starts with a discussion of these challenges and proceeds to describe how PBL, a constructivist-based learning approach, has been implemented successfully in an online learning environment in relation to the teaching and learning of Business Correspondence in Temasek Business School.


PERCEPTION OF LEARNING

The traditional and more objectivist paradigm views learning as a one-way transmission of information from the teacher to the students mainly through didactic teaching. Students are "passive learners attempting to mimic what they see and hear from the expert teacher." (Collins & Berge, 1995:6) However, according to Lee (1999), if we continue to focus merely on the delivery of information and regard students as passive learners, "cognitive growth will be retarded as thinking about what to learn and learning how to learn become primarily the responsibility of the teacher". On the other hand, learning can be reconceptualised as a constructive process whereby learners are encouraged to interact actively with the learning content, activities and environment. They, individually and socially, co-construct knowledge based on their interactions with the environment and interpretations of experiences in the world.


COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

The other challenge that instruction faces is presented by computer technology. When used in education, it helps to move the focus from knowledge-as-possession to knowledge-as-construction, and instruction as imparting knowledge to instruction as guiding the social construction of knowledge by the learner in an intellectually rich environment. This is congruent with constructivist principles of teaching and learning. Thus, computer technology has been proposed as a mediator for creating engaging and meaningful interaction that supports learning.

The constructivist approach to knowledge construction and learning is well supported by a variety of technologies including computer-mediated communication (CMC). The most prominent applications of CMC - computer conferencing and electronic mail - support both synchronous (real time) and asynchronous (delayed) group communication. The power of computer conferencing and electronic mail as constructivist learning tools lies in their capabilities to support conversation and collaboration. (Jonassen et al, 1995). Small groups can work together to solve problems, discuss interpretations and negotiate meaning. Knowledge construction occurs when students explore issues, take positions, discuss those positions, and re-evaluate their positions. As a result of contact with new or different perspectives, these activities may contribute to a higher level of learning through cognitive restructuring or conflict resolution, leading to new ways of understanding the material. (Harasim, 1989).


PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

Problem-based learning is one of the most robust educational options that have been embraced by many institutions of higher learning. Based on constructivist principles, it is a strategy that allows students to construct their own understanding of a subject area through solving problems that are based on real world situations. It also encourages critical thinking and the development of problem-solving skills while acquiring the content knowledge of the subject.

Students play an active role in their own learning. They decide for themselves what they need to know in order to solve a problem and go about acquiring the necessary knowledge on their own. The tutors act facilitators guiding and assisting the students in the learning process. They answer students' queries, encourage critical thinking, and direct students to relevant sources of information.

PBL starts with a problem situation being presented to the students. The problem situation is designed such that it is specific to the subject matter to be studied. Students set their own learning agenda and identify the areas which will require further research. After researching the learning issues, they discuss and share their findings with their peers, and develop an appropriate solution. Through this problem solving process, students acquire the content knowledge for the subject area.


PILOT ONLINE BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

In view of the above challenges to learning, the authors attempted to implement PBL in an online learning environment by designing and developing a pilot course of study using PBL as the learning strategy and delivering it via Computer Mediated Communication (CMC). The content area was Business Correspondence. Twenty students from Temasek Business School participated in this pilot online course which ran from May to September 2000.


Instructional Methodology

The course was delivered entirely online via the World Wide Web (WWW) using BlackBoard, a Web-based courseware management and delivery platform. No print materials were provided. Students could access course materials directly from the course website.

The students worked in groups of 5 to 6 to tackle three different problems. Each problem covered a few topics. After completing all three problems, the students would have learnt the various types of written business correspondence as prescribed by the course objectives.

The students learned via the group discussion of the problem aided by the tutor’s facilitation. They also learned by interacting with the course resources provided online. Essentially the onus was on the individual student to access the information, interact with it and discuss it with their peers online. The student, together with the rest of the group members, determined the kind of learning and knowledge that was relevant to the problem.

At the end of each problem situation, each student was required to make an appropriate individual response to the problem and post the ‘solution’ to the tutor via the ‘Student Dropbox’, an electronic folder on the Blackboard course site for student submission of written assignments. This response could be in the form of a letter/memo or an explanation or description of the solution.

Figure 1 shows the study chart for the course.

Figure 1
Study Chart

WK CONTENT TOPICS
ACTIVITY Assignments
1

(15/5 - 21/5) Introduction to module

Netiquette
• Module Information
• Introduction of students
• Navigate around course website.
• Post introduction in Discussion Board
• Read Netiquette



2 - 4

(22/5 - 11/6) Situation 1 • Inter and Intra Office Correspondence
• Purpose and Audience
• Format of Letters/Memos
Online Discussion:
 Issues
 Questions
 Discussion
 Solution Post written assignment for Situation 1 by 11/6
5-8

(12/6 - 9/7) Situation 2 • Language and Tone of Letters/Memos
• Good Business Writing Skills
• Direct Request Messages
• Good News Messages
Online Discussion:
 Issues
 Questions
 Discussion
 Solution Post written assignment for Situation 2 by 9/7.
9-12

(10/7 - 6/8) Situation 3 • Bad News Messages
• Persuasive Messages
Online Discussion:
 Issues
 Questions
 Discussion
 Solution Post written assignment for Situation 3 by 6/8.
13–14

(7/8 – 20/8) Review • Summary of all topics

• Module evaluation


Complete online module evaluation

WRITTEN TEST
(face-to-face) Date and venue to be announced later




Learning Environment

• Discussion Board

The Discussion Board was the main place for all asynchronous group discussions. This was where the learning and sharing of knowledge took place among the students. Students visited the Discussion Board frequently (at least twice a week) to suggest, comment, ask questions and explore the learning issues arising from the problem situation. The group was responsible for helping each other discuss and generate the solution. The students themselves served as an important source of knowledge, support and motivation to each other. They exchanged ideas, shared knowledge (prior and newly acquired) and nudged each other along the learning journey. The more the group shared, discussed, questioned and explored the issues, the better the solution turned out to be.


• Tutors

The tutors acted as facilitators of the group discussions as well as subject matter experts. They were available online either via personal e-mail or the Discussion Board. The tutors made it a point to logon to the Discussion Board at least three to four times a week. They facilitated the online discussions, answered questions related to the subject matter and directed students to relevant learning resources.


• Learning Resources

Online resources were provided in the form of short notes on the topics to be covered for the course. Hyperlinks to external web resources on Business Correspondence were also provided. In addition, students were encouraged to look for information in print resources (books) as well.


• Learning Process

For each of the problem situations, students were guided through the following stages:

Stage 1: Issues
Students analysed the problem situation given to them and identified the key issues.

Stage 2: Questions
Students asked questions about the issues raised. They also identified the areas that needed to be researched in order to understand and solve the problem.

Stage 3: Discussion
Students discussed and attempted to answer the questions raised in Stage 2. They would have to do some research or self-study in order to answer some of these questions. Students also shared with each other what they had found out from their own readings and challenged each other’s answers. Through peer exchange of information, students were able to co-construct knowledge and meaning. This helped them prepare for the next and final stage.

Stage 4: Solution
For this stage, students applied what they had learned from the earlier group discussions to come up with possible solutions to the problem. They shared their ideas for the solution and discussed them with the rest of the group. Any information that was missing and needed to be researched further was surfaced and attended to. At the end of the discussion, students went away and generated their own individual versions of the solution and submitted them to the tutor.

Provision was made for multiple submissions of the solution up till the stipulated deadline of the submission. The tutors provided feedback on earlier submissions and the students could then fine-tune their answers before the final submission.


Observations

• Interaction

CMC allowed the interaction to take place in three modes: learner-learner, learner-tutor, and learner-content. Figure 2a and Figure 2b show how students felt about their interaction with each other and the tutor in an online environment compared to that in a face-to-face learning environment.

Figure 2a
Interaction within an online environment compared to a face-to-face one in terms of frequency

More frequently
% Less frequently
% No difference
%
Interaction with online tutor 35 35 30
Interaction with online classmates 5 85 10


Figure 2b
Interaction within an online environment compared to a face-to-face one in terms of meaningfulness

More meaningful
% Less meaningful
% No difference
%
Interaction with online tutor 35 15 50
Interaction with online classmates 25 35 40


The above results show that, in terms of frequency of interaction, most students preferred face-to-face interaction with their classmates. However there was no significant difference in the percentage of students who preferred face-to-face interaction with their tutor compared to those who preferred to interact with their tutor online. This suggests that there was no dominant preference for either type of interaction; it varied from student to student.

In terms of quality of interaction with the tutor and other classmates, about half of the students felt that there was no difference between an online context and a face-to-face one. In other words, online interaction was just as meaningful as face-to-face interaction. This finding dispels the myth that online learning is unable to provide the learner with meaningful interaction.

It was also found that the online classroom removed any inhibitions students might have about speaking up in a normal face-to-face classroom. Students who felt that they were shy or less confident in voicing out their opinions in a face-to-face context remarked that they were able to contribute more freely and not worry about feeling shy in an online context. They could say what they wanted to without being interrupted and felt assured that their opinions were heard, or, in this case, read by everyone.

55% agreed that online discussions allowed them to express themselves better than face-to-face discussions. They had more time to frame their responses before contributing.

Many cited flexibility and convenience as the key benefits for this mode of online learning. Students could choose their own time, place and pace in learning, going through the study material, and engaging in discussion with their peers and tutor. It was also observed that the tutors too were able to respond to each and every question and comment made. This would have been difficult to do in a face-to-face classroom.


• Learning Experience

Students showed an active interest in the learning process. 75% agreed that they were keen to logon and read messages posted by other members of their discussion group. 70% said they did not have to wait for others to initiate the discussion before posting their messages.

90% used the learning resources provided online; 60% read up on the subject matter from other sources on their own initiative. This shows the ability to engage in independent learning on the part of the students.

90% felt they had learnt a lot from their online group discussions. 85% indicated that these group discussions encouraged them to think and research the learning issues of the subject. They said they had learnt many new things from the others. Their group members contributed ideas they had never thought of. Several mentioned that the online mode allowed them to refer to previous discussions for further understanding and learning. This also shows that students were ready and able to socially co-construct knowledge and meaning on their own.

At the same time, 80% of the students responded that the online discussions had helped them to understand the subject (Business Correspondence) better.

95% acknowledged that the tutor helped them to think much deeper and wider on the subject. This shows that much thinking and learning had been effectively facilitated by the tutor in a constructivist environment.


• Overall Response

Generally, students demonstrated a favourable response to the course. 75% of them found the subject (Business Correspondence) interesting after completing the module. 85% acknowledged the online medium had a positive impact on their ability to learn and understand Business Correspondence. This reflects the potential and validity of the learning and co-construction of knowledge in an online environment.


CONCLUSION

This pilot course has shown the potential and strengths of implementing PBL in an online learning environment.

Enhanced Learning

Online delivery can lead to enhanced learning. Delivering the unit via the WWW can help encourage learners to become more active in their learning and to interact and collaborate with others in the learning process. (Brown, 1997)

Another reason for using the WWW as the instructional medium is that learners can choose for themselves which pathway they want to explore, and in doing so, discover new links for themselves which they can share with their group members. This gives learners more autonomy in choosing how to interact with the information base resulting in more effective learning. (Megarry, 1989)

The WWW also enables learners to self pace, either exploring issues about a topic of interest more deeply, or spending less time on concepts that are already understood. This is useful in PBL where learners have to manage their own learning and look for information on their own.

Sharing knowledge through an electronic medium also helps the overt exchange of naturally covert processes and strategies with other online learners in order to solve collective problems. These exchanges can be viewed by all learners and contribute to the formation of a collaborative mental model in a specific subject area. (Jonassen et al, 1995)


Online discussion

It has also been felt that online discussion has a number of advantages over real time discussion in the classroom. As there is a heavy emphasis on group discussion in PBL, implementing PBL online would yield the following advantages.

First of all, the asynchronous nature of online discussion allows the learners to respond at a time that best suits them. It allows students time to reflect on or further research the topic before responding. Hiltz (1986) found that this 'time for reflection' was an important factor in learning effectiveness. It also allows the students to seek clarification or help from others immediately when the need arises or to learn from whatever discussion is taking place even though they may not have initiated it themselves.

In an online discussion, every participant has an equal 'voice'. This is especially significant for quiet or shy students whose voices may get drowned out by more vocal students in a real time discussion in class. In an online environment, shy students can take advantage of the online medium to put forward their views without any fear of making mistakes in the presence of their classmates. Their responses can be delivered uninterrupted and acknowledged by everyone.

Many of the students in the pilot course cited that they had more time to frame their responses and questions to the tutor and group members. The asynchronous nature of the group discussions does not force students to give an immediate on-the-spot response. Some comments from the participants of the pilot course are: "I feel more inclined to ask questions in an online environment"; "I get to think of how to phrase my questions and responses properly and lessen embarrassment."

The text-based nature of online discussion also has a significant impact on knowledge building. (Brown, 1997). The connections between writing and thinking explored in the 60s by language theorists such as Vygotsky lend insights into the way in which written online discussion can contribute to the construction of meaning. It is argued that it is through the actual process of writing our thoughts and working them over that we really come to understand. The written record allows for revision and encourages self-reflection which are important learning strategies for developing an understanding of new knowledge.

Furthermore all the online discussions are archived electronically. These discussion transcripts can be retrieved at a later time for reference by both the students and the tutor.


Tutor facilitation

For tutors, the online medium provides the opportunity to attend to each and every student individually, something that they are not able to do in a face-to-face setting. Again, the asynchronous mode makes this possible for the tutor to have the luxury of time and flexibility to monitor and correct each student’s postings. In addition, all the discussions are electronically recorded thus making it easier for the tutor to read, correct and respond to the students. This also provides the tutor with the means to track the participation of the students. As collaborative participation is crucial to PBL, this ability to find out which students have not been actively participating in the discussions is particularly useful to the tutor.


PBL and Online Medium

The key thrusts of PBL seem to sit quite well with the online platform. In fact, the online medium offers more to the goals of the constructivist model. Firstly, it affords independence and self-motivated learning as the action of logging on presupposes an intrinsic interest in learning the subject. The flexibility of the platform offers students the extra dimension of satiating their thirst to learn and contribute to the discussion of the scenarios. This would not have been possible in the traditional delivery of PBL, as they would have to wait till a meeting or classroom session is convened for the discussion. Therefore, the time-independent nature of asynchronous online discussions suggests that the online classroom is open twenty-four hours a day.

Secondly, the opportunity to analyse carefully what has been said and to carefully frame opinions increases the quality and depth of discussion. The extra dimension of being able to refer to previous postings helps to keep the discussions focused as well as ensure that no idea or opinion surfaced is left out. This would have been practically lost in a verbal discussion unless it was recorded in verbatim. Previously posted opinions can be challenged even at the later stage. This is a definite boost to the dynamics of construction of meaning where there are ample opportunities to refer, examine, compare, challenge ideas and views.

Thirdly, the technology offers virtual classroom chat and electronic whiteboard display which students and tutor can use to synchronously communicate with each other. This provides a virtual `face-to-face’ communication option. The flexibility of `meeting’ anytime in the cyber classrooms caters to the different preferences of the different students. However, the disadvantage of this is the absence of face-to-face interpersonal interactions. The absence of body language requires messages to be carefully phrased so as to avoid potential misunderstanding and miscommunication.

Fourthly, the equal opportunities for each member to contribute negate the `strong man’ tactic or personality in group dynamics. This online feature ensures that every member who wishes to be heard can be heard. The soft spoken and reticent ones can take advantage of the online discussion to air their views. The tutor can also facilitate every idea and discussion at a convenient pace. This allows a more complete rendering of the constructivist ideal for each and every individual of the learning group.

Lastly, the need to refer to resources and learning materials is aptly and conveniently serviced by the WWW. Students do not need to spend extra time and effort to obtain information from external sources (e.g. library). They have the immediate option of the Internet to search for relevant information.

In conclusion, the pilot online course has shown that PBL, as a learning strategy, is well supported by Computer Mediated Communication. The potential of the online medium should be explored further so that it can be utilised as an alternative to traditional classroom settings for the implementation of PBL.

References

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