Problem-based learning in initial teacher education: taking the agenda forward

Problem-based learning (PBL) is not new; in one form or another, it has been around for considerable time. Indeed, as Menon (1997) points out, it may be seen as originating with Dewey at the turn of the century. In this article I examine definitions of PBL, and some of the challenges and problems it presents. I look at the evolution of PBL, and some of the applications of this methodology together with some of the detailed research which has been undertaken in this field. I also discuss the current United Kingdom models of initial teacher education, outline possible uses of PBL in this area, and describe research carried out in the University of Glasgow. Finally, I provide some discussion about the applicability of PBL in the area of initial teacher education. The context of PBL PBL has attracted a great deal of attention in recent times. It is recognised as useful, and indeed used extensively, in the education and training of students involved in the health care professions (Alavi 1995). Entire courses of medical education are now designed around PBL principles (for example, Lloyd 1999). It might be thought, in view of the deluge of material developed concerning PBL and the teaching and learning techniques associated with it, that this is a methodology which has a great deal to offer in the wider contexts of professional education and it is my task with this paper to examine the potential of PBL for the initial education of teachers, to look at this within the contexts of professional teacher education in the United Kingdom (UK), and to refer to some research on the use of PBL in courses of initial teacher education within the University of Glasgow, Scotland. One text that might be seen as an origin of PBL as it has evolved in recent times is that by Barrows and Tamblyn (1980) entitled: Problem-based learning an approach to medical education. With this text, Barrows and Tamblyn offered a complete approach to medical education, based on the premise that it is better for a PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION 61 student to discover and learn for her/himself, rather than to be informed by others and have to investigate a ‘subject’. They also examined the approaches employed in contemporary medical education of the time, and developed a methodology that came to form the basis of the present day PBL. In this methodology of PBL, students work in groups, so that there is a maximum of interpersonal communication and interaction. A teacher facilitates the groups during a tutorial process, presenting students with a medical problem a case of a patient with particular symptoms or experiences. The students are then encouraged to consider, and if necessary to investigate for themselves, the causes and solutions to the particular set of problems presented by each patient. Emphasis is placed in this approach on reasoning, teamwork and the role of the teacher in understanding and presenting each individual problem. Barrows further developed this process and the role of the teacher in a subsequent work The tutorial process (1988). The Barrows approach has been augmented and commented upon by several researchers since. Schmidt (1983) offered a developed rationale; and Walton and Matthews (1989) examined the implications of PBL in terms of a problem-solving curriculum, notions of student learning and the associated teaching methodologies developed around PBL. The implications of PBL and its many problematics have not escaped the attention of learning theorists either: Boud and Feletti (1997) have offered a wide ranging discussion of these in the articles they edited. Interestingly, this discussion goes beyond medical and health care issues, extending PBL into other professions such as engineering, architecture, social work and law. By 1993, Albanese and Mitchell were able to offer a review of what had been achieved over a number of years in terms of a burgeoning literature and research studies which not only covered the methodology and results of PBL, but also the costs of implementing it. However, also in that year, Vernon and Blake (1993) conducted a meta-analysis to compare PBL with more traditional methods of medical education. This supported the view that PBL was superior to the more traditional methodologies, particularly where student evaluation was concerned. Berkson (1993) was, however, less convinced of the global effectiveness of PBL methodology. It was her view that PBL graduates were not distinguishable from those who had followed traditional courses: moreover, there were serious cost disadvantages in PBL courses as well as a perception of additional stress on students and tutors. Colliver (2000) conducted a further review of the literature relating to PBL, concluding that there was no convincing base of evidence that PBL improved either knowledge or clinical performance. Chen et al (1995) have contributed a set of articles reflecting upon the process of PBL and encouraging debate about it; there were already controversies about its inflexibility and mechanism at this time. Chen’s work is particularly interesting because it shows that PBL was by this stage not solely North American,