Knowledge Acquisition, Application, and Transfer in Problem-Based Learning by Design

• In Event: Arming Achilles’ Heel: Instructional Strategies and Approaches for Promoting Knowledge Acquisition in Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

Purpose of study
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical discussion and practical design principles for promoting PBL students’ knowledge acquisition, application, and transfer by addressing PBL problems and curriculum from an instructional design perspective.

Theoretical Framework & Discussion
Unlike the ability to apply the knowledge, independent problem solving skills, lifelong self-directed learning skills, and collaborative skills that have been explicitly discussed as learning objectives of PBL (Barrows, 1986; Norman & Schmidt, 1992), sufficient content knowledge acquisition is an assumed, implicit, and therefore, seemingly under-appreciated learning objective in PBL. The higher order skills are the ultimate learning goals of PBL for preparing students for real life challenges. Yet, the basic domain knowledge is the building block and foundation needed for these advanced reasoning and problem solving processes to take place (Bransford et al., 1989; Schorenfeld, 1985). PBL does not under-value basic knowledge acquisition. Instead, it is “used for knowledge acquisition” (Perrenet et al., 2000, p. 347). The supporting evidence for this statement is the fact that tens of thousands of PBL studies have been devoted to test this very learning outcome. Unfortunately, though inconclusive, several decades of accumulated PBL literature generally agrees that knowledge acquisition seems to be a relatively vulnerable area of PBL (e.g. Albanses & Michitill, 1993, Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009).

In responding to this issue, a number of instructional strategies have been utilized, such as scaffolding by including tutors’ prompts, a list with explicit readings suggestions, or prompt questions in the problem statements. One other possible avenue for alleviating this issue that has not received sufficient attention is through systematic design of PBL problems or curriculum.
Hung (2006) has provided a 3C3R model (content, context, connect, researching, reasoning, and reflecting) that provides instructional designers with a conceptual framework to design effective PBL problems. Hung’s (2009) 9-steps PBL design process guides PBL educators systematically considering the content component of the problem to properly afford the intended content knowledge. In doing so, over or under-affording PBL problems, which leads to ineffective learning processes for acquiring intended content knowledge can be avoided. The design of context component helps the designers determine an appropriate level of contextual validity of PBL problems, which helps students see how the knowledge is applied in real settings. The connection component, which will be the main focus of the paper, not only concerns the conceptual relationships among the concepts and factual knowledge within the PBL course or curriculum, but can also serve as an instructional platform for employing a variety of instructional design techniques for guiding students to strengthen, reinforce, and integrate the intended domain knowledge, and more importantly, to ensure the students’ sufficiency of breadth of intended domain knowledge. The principles for designing the connection component of PBL problems could include vertical, horizontal, prerequisite, overlapping, and multi-facets connection.

Scholarly Significance
The discussion of this paper provides an alternative perspective for PBL researchers and educators to seek instructional solutions to address the issue of PBL students’ knowledge acquisition.

Author

• Woei Hung, University of North Dakota