In response to the perception that American education is in crisis and our schools need to be redesigned, the American Psychological Association developed guidelines for reform based upon proven Learner-Centered psychological principles. The first of their twelve guidelines speaks to the importance of engaged learning.
Students have a natural inclination to learn and pursue personally relevant learning goals.
In meaningful life situations, even very young children naturally engage in self-directed learning activities in pursuit of personal goals. During Problem-Based Learning, students encounter situations with undefined problems, incomplete information, and unasked questions at the opening of a unit of study. The scenarios presented to students demand that they define issues, create hypotheses, conduct investigations, develop solutions that fit the problem, and evaluate potential solutions. In the process, students crisscross domains of knowledge making interdisciplinary connections. They move forward, hit dead ends, revise their thinking, choose new strategies, and move on.