Among the goals of higher education are to cultivate attitudes, provide skills, and establish a base of fundamental knowledge that will prepare students to deal effectively with the problems they will encounter throughout their lives. Problem-based learning addresses these goals by challenging small groups of students with complex problems that require analysis, encourage cooperative efforts, and stimulate learning course content in an applied context. We have adopted the model, originally developed to educate intellectually mature, highly motivated medical students using clinical case studies, and adapted it as we transformed introductory physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and biology courses in an undergraduate university setting. Among the challenges we have addressed are class size, group dynamics, student maturity, sources of problems, and student supervision. Despite the increased demands, problem-based learning has generated a large number of student and faculty advocates. The six co-investigators have provided numerous workshops, written problems, and created other teaching materials to accommodate the growing national interest in active-learning strategies. All stages of the project have been documented and evaluated. In addition to the workshops and conferences we have run, a frequently visited Internet site has been created to help disseminate our project and its materials at http://www.udel.edu/pbl/.

Dissemination

Publications:

1. Harold B. White, III, "Creating 'Problems' for PBL," About Teaching 47, 2&4 (1995).

2. Sheella Mierson, "A Student-Centered Model of PBL," About Teaching 47, 4 (1995).

3. Barbara J. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning in General Physics," Announcer 23(4),52 (1995).

4. Barbara J. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning: Bringing the Real World into the Physics Classroom," Announcer 25(2),55 (1995).

5. Barbara A. Williams and Barbara J. Duch, "Problem-Based Group Learning in General Physics," Bulletin of the American Physics Society, 40, 971 - (1995).

6. Barbara J. Duch, "Problems: A Key Factor in PBL," About Teaching 50, 7-8 (1996).

7. Deborah E. Allen, "Teaching with Tutors: Can Undergraduates Effectively Guide Student Problem-Based Learning Groups?," About Teaching 50, 1 - 2 (1996).

8. Sheella Mierson, "A Problem-Based Learning Course in Physiology," FASEB J. 10: A265 abst. (1996).

9. Deborah E. Allen, "Adapting Problem-Based Learning Strategies to the Introductory Biology Classroom," FASEB J. 10, A605 (1996) (Presented at Experimental Biology '96. Abstract selected for press coverage.)

10. Deborah E. Allen, Barbara J. Duch, and Susan E. Groh, "The Power of Problem-Based Learning in Teaching Introductory Science Courses," In New Directions in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education #68, ed: L. Wilkerson and W. Gijselaers. pp 43 - 52, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, (1996).

11. Barbara J. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning in Physics: The Power of Students Teaching Students," J. College Sci. Teaching 25(5): 326 - 329 (1996).

12. Barbara J. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning in Physics: Making Connections with the Real World," Proceedings of the International Conference on Undergraduate Physics Education, University of Maryland August 1996, In Press.

13. Harold B. White, III, "Addressing Content in Problem-Based Courses: The Learning Issue Matrix," Biochemical Education 24, 41 - 45 (1996).

14. Harold. B. White, III, "Dan Tries Problem-Based Learning: A Case Study," To Improve the Academy, 15, 75 - 91 (1996).

15. Susan E. Groh, Barbara A. Williams, Deborah E. Allen, Barbara J. Duch, Sheella Mierson, and Harold B. White, III, "Institutional Change in Science Education: A Case Study." In Student-Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching. ed. C. D'Avanzo and A. P. McNeal. pp 83 - 91 Philadelphia: Saunders. (1997).

16. Deborah E. Allen, "Bringing Problem-Based Learning into the Introductory Biology Classroom," In Student-Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching ed. C. D'Avanzo and A. P. McNeal. pp 259 - 275 Philadelphia: Saunders. (1997).

17. Barbara A. Williams and Barbara J. Duch, "Cooperative Problem-Based Learning in an Undergraduate Physics Classroom," In Student-Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching. ed. C. D'Avanzo and A. P. McNeal. pp 453 - 470, Philadelphia: Saunders (1997).

18. Harold B. White, III, "Confronting Undergraduate Dualism with Problem-Based Learning," (Invited chapter, Sun Flowers: The Blooming of College Science Teaching, Edited by Peter Taylor, Penny Gilmer, and Kenneth Tobin) (1998).

19. Barbara J. Duch, Deborah E. Allen, and Harold B. White, III, "Problem-Based Learning: Preparing Students for the 21^st Century," in Teaching Excellence, POD Network (1998).

20. Deborah E. Allen and Barbara J. Duch, "Thinking Toward Solutions: Problem-Based Learning Activities for General Biology," a book of PBL problems for general biology, Philadelphia: Saunders (1998).

Workshops: The PIs have developed a unique workshop formula in which faculty-learners are given "problems" just as students would be. A model group of students is also used in a "fish bowl" format where the students go through the process of problem-based learning while the faculty learners observe. This formula could be a model for dissemination of novel pedagogies that are hard to convey on paper. Each year several workshops and seminars on techniques and implementation of problem-based learning have been held. These have ranged from those tailored to individual departments to intensive 3-day workshops with faculty from multiple departments. The workshops include faculty and graduate students from the University of Delaware, along with faculty from nearby institutions. In addition workshops have been presented at a number of national meetings including The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Professional and Organizational Development Network, the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Association for Physics Teachers, the National Society of Black Physicists, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, and the American Chemical Society.

A three-day PBL conference was conducted in June 1994 that was attended by 70 University of Delaware faculty and 10 from regional institutions. Subsequently, introductory workshops were offered on campus each summer and in January 1994, 1995, and 1997. A regional three-day PBL conference was held June 20-22, 1995. From June 9 - 12, 1996, an international conference, "Problem-Based Learning in Undergraduate Science," was held at the University of Delaware and attended by about 125 faculty from the United States and six other countries. Dr. Frank Settle from the NSF attended this conference.

Products: During the summer of 1994, the first year of the three-year project, the PI and his development team wrote problems for their courses. These included a few that can be used for more than one discipline. In subsequent years, those problems have been refined based on classroom testing and additional problems have been written. Some of these problems are available at the PBL World Wide Web site established at the University of Delaware. Others are published in disciplinary education journals, and all are available on request. A PBL problems book for general biology written by two of the co-principal investigators will be published next year.

Presentations:

1. White, "Problem-Based Learning in Introductory Science Across Disciplines (including Biochemistry)," presented at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Meetings, Special Session: New Approaches to College Science Teaching, May 23, 1994, Washington, DC.

2. Groh, "Using Problem-Based Learning in General Chemistry," presented at American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, August 23, 1994, Washington, DC.

3. Williams, "Problem-Based Learning in Honors Physics" presentation at the XXII Day of Scientific Lectures, 18th Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists, April 14, 1995, Atlanta, GA.

4. White, Allen, and Groh, "Introduction to Problem-Based Learning for High School Teachers and Administrators," workshop presented at a Project 21 Professional Development Institute for High School Science Teachers, June 28, 1995, Dover, DE.

5. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning: Bringing the Real World into the Physics Classroom," invited paper presented at the American Association of Physics Teaching Summer Meeting, August 1995, Spokane, WA.

6. Duch and White, "The Problems in Problem-Based Learning," pre-conference workshop for 20th annual Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network Conference, October 25, 1995, North Falmouth, MA.

7. White and Duch, "Problem-Based Learning in Undergraduate Science," presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, February 12, 1996, Baltimore MD.

8. Mierson, "Problem-Based Learning: Excitement and Challenges," Department of Biochemistry, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, March 14, 1996, Piscataway, NJ.

9. Mierson, "The Use of Problem-Based Learning to Teach Undergraduate and Graduate Basic Sciences, " University of British Columbia, March 22, 1996, Vancouver, BC.

10. Mierson, "Peer, Tutor, and Self-Evaluations of Learning: The Use of Feedback to Enhance Learning in a Problem-Based Setting," In American Physiological Society Symposium on Methods for Evaluating Higher Order Learning, Experimental Biology '96, April 14, 1996, Washington, DC.

11. Duch (with Elizabeth Lieux), "Problem-Based Learning as a Strategy in Dietetics Education," Dietetic Educators of Practitioners Spring Meeting, April 1996, Newport, RI.

12. Duch, "Workplace Skills: What They Are and How do We Help Students Acquire Them," American Physics Society/ American Association of Physics Teachers Joint Meeting, May 1996, Indianapolis, IN.

13. Allen, Duch, Groh, Mierson, White, and Williams, Organized and made many presentations at an international Conference "Problem-Based Learning in Undergraduate Science," June 9-12, 1996, Newark, DE.

14. Williams, "Bare Accident Problem," at Allen and Williams, several invited presentations at conference, "Student-Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching," June 15 - 18, 1996, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA.

15. Allen and Williams, several invited presentations at conference, "Student-Active Science: Models of Innovation in College Science Teaching," June 15 - 18, 1996, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA..

16. Groh, "Using Problem-Based Learning in General Chemistry" Meeting of the Middle Atlantic Discovery Project, June, 26-27, 1996 Hood College, Frederick, MD.

17. Duch and Williams, "Problem-Based Learning: Experience It Yourself," American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting, August 1996, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

18. Mierson, "The Use of Problem-Based Learning to Teach Physiology to Undergraduate and Graduate Basic Science Students," Northwest Center for Medical Education of Indiana University, August 15, 1996, Gary, IN.

19. Duch, White, and Allen, "Problems in PBL" pre-conference workshop for 21st annual Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network Conference, October 16, 1996, Snowbird, UT.

20. Duch (with E. M. Lieux & J. L. Knous) "Discovering Problem-Based Learning as a Strategy in Dietetic Education," The American Dietetic Association annual meetin, October 20, 1996, San Antonio, TX.

21. Duch, Allen, and White, "Problem-Based Learning in Science: Bringing the 'Real World' into the Classroom." Rutgers Math and Science Learning Center, December 12, 1996, New Brunswick, NJ.

22. Mierson, "Problem-Based Learning: Getting Students to Think in the Classroom," Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

23. Duch, "Problem-Based Learning in Undergraduate Science," in NSF-sponsored Analytical Sciences Workshop, Pittsburgh Conference, March 14, 1997, Atlanta, GA

24. Mierson, "Writting Problems for a PBL Physiology Course for Seniors and Graduate Students," part of the symposium on "Impact of Professional/Discipline and Level of Learner on Case Design in Problem-Based Learning Curricula," American Education Research Association, March 27, 1997, Chicago, IL.

25. Allen, Duch, and White, Problem-Based Learning Workshop for Delaware Technical and Community College, May 12, 1997, Dover, DE.

26. Mierson, "Problem-Based Learning," Two half-day introductory workshops, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, June 3 & 4, 1997, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Selected for coverage in The HAPS Educator, August 1997, p. 18)

27. Allen and White, NSF-funded Workshop on Problem-Based Learning, University of Massachusetts, July 17, 1997, Amherst, MA.

28. Mierson, "Problem-Based Learning," Day-long workshop for Pennsylvania Summer Academy, August 6-7,1997, Boiling Springs, PA.

29. Allen, "Getting Started with PBL," "PBL: Experience it Yourself," and "Writing Problem-Based Cases." Three days of PBL Workshops at W. Welty, R. Silverman, and T. Angelo's annual "Using Cases and Classroom Assessment to Improve Learning and Teaching." August 9 - 13, 1997, Vancouver, B.C.

30. Allen and White, "Introduction to Problem-Based Learning for Undergraduate Biochemistry" and "Writing Problems Suitable for Undergraduate Biochemistry Problem-Based Learning," Concurrent double sessions, Satellite Meeting of The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on Biochemical Education, August 23, 1997, San Francisco, CA.

In addition to these presentations, we have more than 10 programs scheduled through June 1998 including a Gordon Conference, the AAAS Meeting, and the ASBMB Meeting.

WWW, URL, and other Internet addresses: A regularly maintained web site has been established at the University of Delaware. It includes articles written by faculty authors in No. 47 & 50 of About Teaching, issues devoted to problem-based learning; a listing of courses being taught using problem-based learning that welcome observers; syllabi, problems, and sample examinations from courses that use problem-based learning; information on conferences and proposal opportunities, and links to other related web pages. The address is http://www.udel.edu/pbl.

Evaluation:

An extensive evaluation was conducted to obtain the effect of problem-based learning on introductory science students' attitudes and achievements. A two-person evaluation board visited the University twice, attending classes, interviewing students and faculty, reviewing data collected, and advising the group on their findings. Demographic data was collected on all students who took one or more of the problem-based courses and on comparable students taking the traditional version of the courses. The students were surveyed on course ratings, course performance, attitude toward science, and class attendance. Random student interviews and student tracking were also conducted. Appended to this report is a list of the specific information collected and now stored in the Math and Science Education Resource Center, 105 Pearson Hall. These documents are available for examination on request.

Honors:

The PBL project was nominated by the University of Delaware for the TIAA/CREF Hesburgh Award. One of the Co-principal investigators, Dr. Deborah E. Allen, received a University of Delaware Outstanding Teacher Award during the grant period.

Related Grants Involving Co-Principal Investigators:

"Multilayered Learning Program for Problem-Based Learning Classrooms," Fund For the Improvement in Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) 1 September 1996 - 30 August 1999, $143,642 (D. Allen P.I., H.B.White, and B. Duch, CoPI's)

"Multilayered Learning Program for Problem-Based Learning Classrooms: Focus on Preservice Teachers," National Science Foundation - Division of Undergraduate Education, 1 February 1997 - 31 August 1999, $56,876 (D. Allen P.I.; H.B.White, and B. Duch, CoPI's)

"Catalysts for Change: Foundation Courses and Instructional Innovation," National Science Foundation - Division of Undergraduate Education, 1 March 1997 - 28 February 1999, $200,000, (George Watson, PI, H. B. White, D. Allen, S. Groh, and B. Duch among several CoPIs)

"Integrating Research & Education: Research -- an Essential Element of Undergraduate Education," National Science Foundation - Division of Undergraduate Education, 15 February 1997 - 14 February 2000, $200,000 (David Roselle PI, Joan Bennett, Project Administrator, H. B. White, D. Allen, and B. Duch members of Project Advisory Board).

Appendix Material:

A. List of Evaluation Materials Collected.

B. Summary of Student Attitude Surveys

Long Range Study Group

Each year during the grant period, a random subset of students taking PBL courses were invited to participate in a long range study to follow changes in attitude toward science, cooperative learning, and the nature of knowledge as they went through their college career. Later this was expanded to include several peer tutors in PBL courses. A total of 93 students were involved. They entered study group by completing an essay and/or an oral interview. This study is still in progress. The breakdown for each year is as follows:

• Group 1 (1994-1995): 28 students

• Group 2 (1995-1996): 28 students

• Group 3 (1996-1997): 31 students

• Tutors (1995-1996): 6 peer tutors

We have available for each student:

• Informed consent forms for each of these students

• College transcripts - course information, grades, majors, program changes

• Record of tutor experience, involvement in tutor training course

This collection of information and documents also includes:

• Essays by students 94F, 95F, 96F

• Transcripts of oral interviews 95S, 96S

• Learning in science questionnaire 97S

• Test of Scientific Reasoning 95S

• Response to article on iron in oceans 95F

Detailed Course Evaluations:

Students completed detailed evaluations for each course which are available as follows:

• Honors Introductory Biology Deborah Allen 93F, 94S, 95S, 95F, 96S, 96F, 97S

• Honors Introductory Chemistry Susan Groh 95S, 95F, 96S, 96F, 97S

• Honors Introductory Physics Barbara Duch 92F, 93S, 93F, 94S, 95S

• Honors Introductory Physics Barbara Williams 94F, 95S, 96F, 97S

• Introductory Biochemistry Hal White 95S, 96S, 97S

Content Area Tests

Standardized concept tests were administered in physics and a non-standardized test in biology.

• Honors Introductory Physics: Mechanics Baseline

• Force-Concept Inventory

• Electrical Circuit Concept

• Honors Introductory Biology Content Tests

External Reviews

Two external reviewers visited campus on several occasions during the grant period. Each wrote evaluations of the project and the courses they visited. Dr. Herreid is a Professor of Biology and Director of the Honors Program at Buffalo. Dr. Weiss has expertise in evaluating critical thinking and is director of a Teaching and Learning Center.

Clyde Herreid, SUNY Buffalo, 96S, 97Summer

Carol Weiss Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science , 97F

Publications by Grant Co-Principal Investigators

Evaluations of Conferences and Workshops

All on-campus conferences and workshops were routinely evaluated. Documents include evaluations of specific sessions as well as the overall program. These include evaluations of workshops conducted while the grant proposal was under review.

June 1992, July 1992, February 1993, July 1993, January 1994, Summer 1994, January 1995, Summer 1995, June 1996 January 1997