Rather than litter the lists with vacuous personal attacks, please 
take a few milliseconds to hit "DELETE" now if you (a) have no 
interest in the present subject, or (b) dislike long posts such as 
this one (13 KB), or (c) accept the anti-cross-posting advice of the 
anonymous universal expert "Ask Anon" at 
<http://www.advicemeant.com/netiquet/usenet.shtml#Cross>, or (d) have 
any other reason whatsoever.

In his AP-Physics post of 2 Aug 2005 titled "Teaching Methods, Fads, 
Time Spent on Mechanics, Etc." John Luvera (2005) wrote [slightly 
edited; bracketed by lines "LLLLL. . . ."):

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
. . . . Someone mentioned that teaching method innovations are 
recycled from the past . . . . seasoned veterans have told me just 
that: "I remember when (fill in the innovation) came to our district 
back in (fill the year)." . . . . I would like to get the opinion of 
veteran teachers (or anyone who has knowledge on the subject) on 
Project-based or problem-based learning (PBL).  Visit MCLI (2001)] if 
you have no idea what I am referring to. Is this a "re-tread" or is 
it new?"
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

As indicated in MCLI (2001), PBL has a venerable history and, in my 
opinion, most implementations of PBL do not deserve of the pejorative 
designation "retread." According to MCLI:

"Problem-based learning began at McMaster University Medical School 
over 25 years ago. . . .[but according to Woods - see below - 
McMaster was into PBL over 35 years ago and humans have been into PBL 
since the stone age]. . . It has since been implemented in various 
undergraduate . . . [see e.g., the exemplary Univ. of Delaware PBL 
site <http://www.udel.edu/pbl/>]. . . and graduate programs around 
the world. Additionally, elementary and secondary schools have 
adopted PBL. The PBL approach is now being used in a few community 
colleges as well."

In "Problem-based learning (LONG!)" [Hake (2000a)], I opined that the 
most complete discussion of what is and what is not PBL is by Don 
Woods (2005) of the McMaster Univ. Chemical Engineering Department. 
Woods wrote [bracketed by lines "WWWWW. . ."; my CAPS]:

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
"Problem-based Learning: PBL is any learning environment in which the 
problem drives the learning.  That is, before students learn some 
knowledge they are given a problem.  The problem is posed so that the 
students discover that they need to learn some new knowledge before 
they can solve the problem. Some example problem-based learning 
environments include: (a) research projects, (b) engineering design 
projects that are more than a synthesis of previously learned 
knowledge.

The traditional and well-known 'Case approach,' popular with business 
schools, may or may not be problem-based learning.  Often the case is 
used to integrate previously-learned knowledge and hence would not 
be, according to this definition, problem-based learning.

What's the big deal about PBL?  Posing the problem before learning 
tends to motivate students.  They know why they are learning the new 
knowledge.  Learning in the context of the need-to-solve-a-problem 
also tends to store the knowledge in memory patterns that facilitate 
later recall for solving problems.

What skills should a student have before entering a PBL program? They 
should be skilled at problem solving because that skill in needed as 
the students try to solve the problem.

Does using PBL develop problem solving skills?  Not without explicit 
interventions on the part of the teacher.  PBL offers an opportunity 
to develop the skills.

Is PBL an example of cooperative learning?  It depends. If the PBL is 
an individual project, then it does not require cooperation with 
others.

Why does there seem to be so much confusion about what is and what is 
not PBL? PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING, LEARNING BECAUSE YOU NEED TO SOLVE A 
PROBLEM, HAS BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES.  INDEED, IN THE STONE AGE, 
PEOPLE LEARNED SKILLS AND APPROACHES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS TO SURVIVE. 
They just didn't say to each other 'Hey, you are using PBL.'

Similarly, I SUGGEST THAT ALL RESEARCH IS PBL, although we don't call 
it that, we call it research.  In the 1960's McMaster Medical School 
introduced a learning environment that was a combination of small 
group, cooperative, self-directed, interdependent, self-assessed PBL. 
Since then this approach has been called 'PBL'. But PBL, as I 
suggested previously, can be in any form where a problem is posed to 
drive the learning.  To overcome the confusion, I suggest we use the 
awkward terminology of small group, self-directed, self-assessed PBL 
when referring to learning environments similar to the McMaster 
Medical school approach."
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

For more information on PBL, one might visit the PBL listserv with 
archives at <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/pbl.html>.

Of course, there may be student resistance to a teaching strategy 
such as PBL that attempts to impose the "intolerable labor thought, 
that most distasteful of all our activities" (Justice Learned Hand) 
upon students.

In "Re: Student resistance to changes in professional education 
practice," [Hake (2004b)], I quoted David Garvin's (2003) fascinating 
article "Making the Case" [bracketed by lines "GGGGGGGGGG. . . "]:

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Christopher Columbus Langdell, the pioneer of the case method, 
attended Harvard Law School from 1851 to 1854 - twice the usual term 
of study. He spent his extra time as a research assistant and 
librarian, holed up in the school's library reading legal decisions 
and developing an encyclopedic knowledge of court cases. . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . .
In his course on contracts, he insisted that students read only 
original sources-cases-and draw their own conclusions. To assist 
them, he assembled a set of cases and published them, with only a 
brief two-page introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .  .
Inducing general principles from a small selection of cases was a 
challenging task, and students were unlikely to succeed without help. 
To guide them, Langdell developed through trial and error what is now 
. . .  [erroneously - see Hake (2004b)]. . . called the Socratic 
Method: an interrogatory style in which instructors question students 
closely about the facts of the case, the points at issue, judicial 
reasoning, underlying doctrines and principles, and comparisons with 
other cases. Students prepare for class knowing that they will have 
to do more than simply parrot back material they have memorized from 
lectures or textbooks; they will have to present their own 
interpretations and analysis, and face detailed follow-up questions 
from the instructor.

Langdell's innovations initially met with enormous resistance. MANY 
STUDENTS WERE OUTRAGED (my CAPS). During the first three years of his 
administration, as word spread of Harvard's new approach to legal 
education, enrollment at the school dropped from 165 to 117 students, 
leading Boston University to start a law school of its own. Alumni 
were in open revolt.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

So what's new in education reform?

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>

"Science should be visualized as progressing from problem to problem 
- to problems of ever increasing depth. Problems crop up especially 
when we are disappointed in our expectations, or when our theories 
involve us in difficulties, in contradictions; and these may arise 
either within a theory, or between two different theories, or as the 
result of a clash between our theories and our observations. Thus 
science starts from problems, and not from observations; though 
observations may give rise to a problem, especially if they are 
unexpected; that is to say, if they clash with our expectations or
theories."
     Karl R. Popper (1902-1994) in "Conjectures and Refutations" (p. 222)


REFERENCES
Garvin, D.A. 2003. "Making the Case: Professional education for the
world of practice" Harvard Magazine, September/October; online at
<http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/090322.html>. A footnoted
pdf is available at this site. Thanks to MIT's Lori Breslow and John
Belcher for bringing this article to my attention.

Hake, R.R. 2000a. "Problem-based learning (LONG!)" PhysLrnR post of 
14 Mar 2000 11:37:46-0800 ; online at
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0003&L=PHYSLRNR&P=R816&I=-3&X=2962C9565F405EAE7A&Y=rrhake%40earthlink.net>. 
See also Hake (2000b, 2004a).

Hake, R.R. 2000b. "History of PBL," PhysLrnR post of 21 Feb 2000
20:23:20-0800; online at
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0002&L=PHYSLRNR&P=R5057&I=-3&X=46255828893331FA50&Y=rrhake%40earthlink.net>.

Hake, R.R. 2004a. "Re: Effectiveness of PBL - Response By Don Woods," 
online at 
<http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0405&L=pod&P=R11428&I=-3>. 
Post of 23 May 2004 12:02:34-0700 to AERA-J, ASSESS, DrEd, EvalTalk, 
PhysLrnR, POD, STLHE-L, and PBL.

Hake, R.R. 2004b. "Re: Student resistance to changes in professional 
education practice," online at
<http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0410&L=pod&P=R1366&I=-3>. 
Post of 1 Oct 2004 12:30:24-0700 to AERA-I, AERA-J, AP-Physics, 
ASSESS, Dr-Ed, EvalTalk, PBL, Phys-L, PhysLrnR, POD, and STLHE-L.

Luvera, J. 2005. "Teaching Methods, Fads, Time Spent on Mechanics, 
Etc.," AP-Physics post of 2 Aug 2005 12:54:17-0700; online at the 
primitive LYRIS archives 
<http://lyris.collegeboard.com/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?site=collegeboard&enter=ap-physics>.

MCLI. 2001. "PBL Overview," Maricopa [Community Colleges] Center for 
Learning and Instruction online at 
<http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/pbl/info.html>. For information on 
MCLI see at <http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/>.

Woods, D.R. 2005. "Problem-based Learning, especially in the context of
large classes" at <http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/pbl/pbl.htm>.