My PBL Personal Reflection

1.  How has the Problem-based learning experience changed:

• the way you learn?
•  the way you solve problems?
•  your understanding of what makes group learning effective?

Problem based learning (PBL) has changed my understanding on how people learn. I have learnt that team work is the most important factor in PBL as we have to work in a group. PBL also encourages collaborative and cooperative learning among my peers, as we engage ourselves in discussions. According to Bridges & Hallinger (1991), students take responsibility for their own learning as PBL encourages students to identify their learning needs and determine the resources they will need to use to accomplish their tasks. Through PBL, I have learned to solve the problems assigned to us efficiently by linking it with learning theories that were covered in lectures. The real-case PBL scenarios have made us think out of the box to understand and find ways to solve it.

As compared to the typical lectures in class delivered by the lecturer, PBL have made me understand the important concept of educational psychology through including learning theories. Through discussing and evaluating on the PBL scenarios with our group mates, it has made my learning an effective one. PBL has also made us become more dependent on ourselves rather than being spoon fed by our lecturer. During PBL, our tutor act as a facilitator, and this approach is somehow similar to the learning theory of Constructivism. We construct and manage our own knowledge through group discussions and try to find the required solutions for the assigned PBL scenario. Through focus group discussions among our peers, our learning  became diversified and we are able to share our thoughts and views on the scenario at different perspectives.

2.  How has the Problem-based learning experience nurtured your competencies as a beginning teacher?
 

The experiences encountered during PBL were indeed an eye opener as we were exposed to real-life case scenarios that are happening in classrooms today. Through the PBL process, it has nurtured my competencies as a beginning teacher as it has provided me with a platform of how the teaching environment would be like in a classroom. There are so many possible scenarios that we might encounter while teaching and as a teacher of the class, we should know how to handle and manage such possible problems. Through Educational Psychology module, I have learnt many psychological theories in understanding the learner, and these theories have taught me how to handle different situations in class. To be a competent beginning teacher, we must be ready to expose ourselves with different real-life problems in class as such problems are normally unexpected. The more understanding we have towards a learner, hopefully we will be able to handle possible problems that might happen in class.

3. After having engaged with the content of Educational Psychology, what is your present belief about how students learn best?

I think that students learn best when they are provided with a conducive environment. The external environment plays an important role in making sure that students learn appropriately. With reference to our PBL scenario, I have learnt that students do not really benefit when the teacher told them to memorize a text without even comprehending the concepts. With the increasing use of the internet media such as Google, students are able to find the answer to a question easily, without the help of the teacher. The vast information available in the internet has made learning much easier but the role of a teacher is still significant to ensure that the information received from the internet are being filtered. Not all information in the internet are facts and students must be aware of that. A conducive environment is when there are active interactions and learning bbetween the teacher and the students in a classroom. Through discussions and participation in class, students are able to share their views and this actually sets them thinking. Learning through memorizing may be effective but students might not understand the concepts behind the topics. With discussions and active participation in class during hands-on activities, students will be able to construct their own knowledge and understand the concepts taught in class. Nevertheless, with proper teaching methods and conducive environment, I am sure students will learn better.