Abstract
Danish PBL-based higher education institutions espouse the qualities of problem-based projects but actual practice shows a different picture. The predominant use of project catalogues and the formal requirements imposed by accreditation inhibit central intentions behind problem-based project work and there is now a danger of routinization.In this paper we identify and analyze problems of routinization of project work based on students’ and supervisor’s perceptions of project work; this is done in the context of undergraduate degree programmes in the Department of Computer Science at Aalborg University.
We identify the need for a further discussion of the conflict between the espoused ideals of PBL and the actual practice at PBL-based higher education.
Our findings also point towards the need for action research into new ways of structuring problem-based project work in different settings.In particular, much greater attention should be devoted to the practice of semester coordination.
References
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Anders Siig Andersen and Simon B. Heilesen (eds.) The Roskilde Model: Problem-Oriented Learning and Project Work, Springer-Verlag ISBN 978-3-319-09715-2, Berlin, 2015.
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Innovation of Problem Based Learning through ICT: Linking Local and Global Experiences
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Ellström, P.E. Integrating learning and work: problems and prospects, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 12 No. 4, 2001, pp. 421-35.
Eva Ellström, Bodil Ekholm, Per-Erik Ellström. Two types of learning environment: Enabling and constraining a study of care work. Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 20 Issue 2, 2008, pp. 84 – 97.
Ellström, P.E. Two logics of learning, in Antonacopoulou, E., Jarvis, P., Andersen, V.,Elkjær, B. and Høyrup, S. (Eds), Learning, Working and Living: Mapping the Terrain of Working Life Learning, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2006.
Fuller, A. and Unwin, L. Expansive learning environments: integrating personal and organisational development’, in Rainbird, H., Fuller, A. and Munro, A. (eds) Workplace Learning in Context. London, Routledge, 2004.
Gunnal Handal. Consultation Using Critical Friends. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Volume 1999, Issue 79, pp. 59–70, 2002.
Illeris, K. Problemorientering og deltagerstyring. Oplæg til en alternativ didaktik. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1974.
Kolmos, A. Reflections on project work and problem based learning, European Journal for Engineering Education, 21(2), 1996, pp. 141-148.
The OECD Innovation Strategy www.oecd.org/innovation/strategy.
Savin-Baden, M. Problem-based learning in higher education: Untold stories. SRHE & Open University Press, Buckingham, 2000.
Savin-Baden, M. Changing models and perspectives of problem- based learning. In: DeGraaf, E. Kolmos, A. (eds.), Management of Change. Rotterdam, 2007.
Shulman, Lee S. Teaching as community property. Change; 1993, Vol. 25, pp. 6-7.
Efthimios Tambouris, Maria Zotou and Konstantinos Tarabanis. Towards designing cognitively-enriched project-oriented courses within a blended problem-based learning context. Journal of Education and Information Technologies. Volume 19 Issue 1, March 2014, pp. 61-86
W. Yip. Students’ Perceptions of the Technological Supports for Problem-based Learning, Education and Information Technologies 7:4, 303–312, 2002.
Aalborg University. Accreditation reports for degree programmes at Aalborg University. http://www.lovgns.aau.dk/Akkreditering+af+uddannelser/ (in Danish). Visited March 2015.
Aalborg University. Problem-Based Learning: Project Work. Aalborg University, Aalborg, 2014. http://www.en.aau.dk/education/problem-based-learning/project-work/.
Anders Siig Andersen and Simon B. Heilesen (eds.) The Roskilde Model: Problem-Oriented Learning and Project Work, Springer-Verlag ISBN 978-3-319-09715-2, Berlin, 2015.
John R. Andersen. Acquisition of Cognitive Skill. Psychological Review. Vol 89, no. 4, pp. 369-406, 1982.
Barell, J. Problem-based learning: The foundation for 21st century skills. In J. Bellanca and R.Brandt (eds.), 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington, 2010, pp. 175-199.
The Danish Accreditation Institution. Akkreditering og godkendelse af eksisterende kandidatuddannelse i politik og administration (in Danish). 15 November 2011. http://akkrediteringsraadet.dk/wp-content/uploads/afgoerelser/Revideret_afgoerelsesbrev_og_rapport_-_RUC_-_kandidat_i_politik_og_administration.pdf
Graaff, d.E. and Kolmos, A, 'Characteristics of Problem-Based Learning' International Journal of Engineering Education, vol 19, nr. 5, 2003. pp. 657-662.
Lone Dirkinck-Holmfeld. Guest Editorial for Special Issue on Problem Based Learning and ICT
Innovation of Problem Based Learning through ICT: Linking Local and Global Experiences
International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2009, Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 3-12
Ellström, P.E. Integrating learning and work: problems and prospects, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 12 No. 4, 2001, pp. 421-35.
Eva Ellström, Bodil Ekholm, Per-Erik Ellström. Two types of learning environment: Enabling and constraining a study of care work. Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 20 Issue 2, 2008, pp. 84 – 97.
Ellström, P.E. Two logics of learning, in Antonacopoulou, E., Jarvis, P., Andersen, V.,Elkjær, B. and Høyrup, S. (Eds), Learning, Working and Living: Mapping the Terrain of Working Life Learning, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2006.
Fuller, A. and Unwin, L. Expansive learning environments: integrating personal and organisational development’, in Rainbird, H., Fuller, A. and Munro, A. (eds) Workplace Learning in Context. London, Routledge, 2004.
Gunnal Handal. Consultation Using Critical Friends. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Volume 1999, Issue 79, pp. 59–70, 2002.
Illeris, K. Problemorientering og deltagerstyring. Oplæg til en alternativ didaktik. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1974.
Kolmos, A. Reflections on project work and problem based learning, European Journal for Engineering Education, 21(2), 1996, pp. 141-148.
The OECD Innovation Strategy www.oecd.org/innovation/strategy.
Savin-Baden, M. Problem-based learning in higher education: Untold stories. SRHE & Open University Press, Buckingham, 2000.
Savin-Baden, M. Changing models and perspectives of problem- based learning. In: DeGraaf, E. Kolmos, A. (eds.), Management of Change. Rotterdam, 2007.
Shulman, Lee S. Teaching as community property. Change; 1993, Vol. 25, pp. 6-7.
Efthimios Tambouris, Maria Zotou and Konstantinos Tarabanis. Towards designing cognitively-enriched project-oriented courses within a blended problem-based learning context. Journal of Education and Information Technologies. Volume 19 Issue 1, March 2014, pp. 61-86
W. Yip. Students’ Perceptions of the Technological Supports for Problem-based Learning, Education and Information Technologies 7:4, 303–312, 2002.
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