SCEN 102 Class Format

Class Format: Problem-Based Learning and Roles and Responsibilities

This course will be taught using a problem-based learning approach. Your instructors have chosen this method of instruction to help you develop some important skills that will help you be successful in your undergraduate education and in your professional life after graduation. These skills are:

To think critically and be able to analyze and solve complex, real world problems.
To find, evaluate, and use appropriate learning resources.
To work cooperatively in teams and small groups.
To demonstrate versatile and effective communication skills, both verbal and written.
To use content knowledge and intellectual skills acquired at in college to become continual learners.

Problem-Based Learning

The basic principle supporting the concept of PBL is older than formal education itself: namely that learning is initiated by a posed problem, query, or puzzle that the learner wants to solve (Boud and Feletti, 1991). In the problem-based approach, complex, real world problems are used to motivate students to identify and research concepts and principles they need to know in order to progress through the problems. Students work in small learning teams, bringing together collective skill at acquiring, communicating, and integrating information in a process that resembles that of inquiry. Problem-based instruction addresses many of the recommended approaches for transforming undergraduate science education, since it provides a setting in which the content objectives of a course can be integrated with the skills listed above.

In-Class Problem Solving
The general process which will be followed in the Tuesday/Thursday class is the following:

1. The learning process will be collaborative. As do most professionals in the workplace, you'll work together in groups.
2. The major concepts needed to solve the problems won't be given before the problems are tackled. Instead, with assistance from the course instructor and the members of your group, you'll learn how to identify what information is needed to proceed through the problem, and where to find this information as the course progresses.
3. Each problem will be introduced by a short lecture that will include suggestions about how to get started, identification of potential pitfalls, an overview of the general subject areas, and/or some suggestions about where to find information.
4. The problem-solving process will be interrupted as needed for additional “pointers,” and clarifications, mini-lectures, and for comparison of the approaches used by different groups.
5. Each problem will be “wrapped up” by a lecture and/or whole-class discussion that will include clarification of concepts that may still not be understood, possible solutions proposed by your groups, and identification of areas of relatedness between the content of different problems.

Each problem will be introduced in the large class, but much of the problem-solving will take place in your discussion section.

Roles & Responsibilities

In a problem-based learning course, the roles and responsibilities of students and instructors are somewhat different from traditional ones. The student assumes more responsibility for his/her learning, while the instructor becomes a guide and mentor to students as they work through course materials. As a general guideline, it is expected that students, the course TAs, and the course instructors will make their best effort to fulfill the following obligations to one another, in order to make the most of this semester's experience:
Students are expected to:

Come to class prepared and on time.

Participate in group discussions, problem-solving, and lab investigations.

Fulfill responsibilities assigned by your group, TAs, and course instructors.

Listen politely to others' expression of their opinions and ideas (but it's OK to disagree, particularly for sound reasons!)

Provide and receive constructive feedback so that your group works well.

TAs are expected to:

Come to class prepared and on time.
Guide students and answer appropriate questions in discussion sections and labs.
Question students, and challenge them as they solve problems and design investigations.
Work with students outside class in established office hours.

Course Instructor is expected to:

Provide a challenging learning environment for the class.
Support students as they work in groups to solve problems or design and conduct investigations.
Guide students to appropriate learning resources and stategies.
Listen to student views and concerns and take appropriate action.
Answer students' questions (when appropriate).

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