LESSON 1.

2
PROBLEM – BASED LEARNING
• Angelica L. Abella
• Instructor 1
• [email protected]

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

LET’S TRY
• STEP 1 – Study a picture from the internet and create a meme or a
question about it.
• STEP 2 – Write 1 – 2 sentences about Pagpapakatao
• STEP 3 – Between creating a meme or a question about a picture
from the internet and writing about pagpapakatao, which did you find
easier to write about? Explain your answer.
Problem-Based Learning
• PBL - project-based learning.

• This acronym is also used for a pedagogy

called problem-based learning
• emerged in the late 1960s at McMaster University

Medical School in Hamilton, Canada.

Problem-Based Learning
ü Learning Centered
ü Student Directed
ü Inquiry-Based
ü Experiential
ü Collaborative
ü Group Work
ü Conceptual and Theoretical
Problem-Based Learning
ü the goal and outcome of project-based learning is
the creation of a product or artifact.
ü Although one might also be produced in a
problem-based activity, as all or part of a resolution
to that problem, it is not a requirement.
Problem-Based Learning
ü problem-based learning is more often conceptual and
theoretical in nature.
ü It is also less concerned with finding correct solutions
to problems and more focused on what can be
learned and understood while tackling them.
Setting Up Groups
ü 6-8 students per group
Crafting Problems
Qualities:
1. problems are complex enough to warrant a group
effort. Every group member should be engaged in
meaningful exploration of relevant themes.

2. Ill-structured, flawed, open-ended, vague

Crafting Problems
Qualities:
1. problems are complex enough to warrant a group
effort. Every group member should be engaged in
meaningful exploration of relevant themes.

2. Ill-structured, flawed, open-ended, vague

Crafting Problems
Qualities:
3. Authentic, relevant, consequential, meaningful,
plausible, credible.

4. Resonate with students’ experiences and interests

 SAMPLE PROBLEMS

Yes, how to observe.

STEPS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS

Yes, how to observe.

 Step 1 Step 5
Step 3
Unpack the Share & Resolve Debrief
problem & plan

Step 2 Step 4
Investigate Report
 STEP 1
Unpack the Problem and Plan

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

 The group reads the problem together and starts to unpack its
components, in an open and inclusive brainstorming process that is guided
by the following questions:

• What information are we given? What do we know?

• What information is missing? What don’t we know?
• What is the problem we need to address and/or resolve?
• What do we need to find out, in order to fully understand the problem
and move forward?
• Who are we in this scenario? What stakeholder role(s) might we play?
• Do any of us have relevant experience or knowledge?
 STEP 2
Investigate

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

Investigate the following questions:

Ø Studying online or hardcopy resources

Ø Surveying or interviewing stakeholders

Ø Seeking information from experts

Ø Observing a particular phenomenon.

 STEP 3
Share and Resolve

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

Problem
 STEP 4
Report

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

Tips:
1. Let the group determine the nature of their presentation,
regarding who presents and how, the use of visual aids, and
handouts, and whether it is live or pre-recorded. All group
members are expected to participate in some capacity.
2. When all groups present the same problem, it is interesting to
discuss the similarities and differences in their ideas,
recommendations, and solutions; why this might have
occurred: and what it implies about addressing problems,
more generally.
 STEP 5
Debrief

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

Tips:
• You can ask the students to journal their personal
experiences or write a reflection piece to their portfolio,
based on 1 or 2 of the problems. This reinforces the
importance of the process and their disposition and
conduct while working with others.
In Conclusion:
ü PBL helps students build life skills in researching, collaborating,
critical thinking, communicating (verbal, written, and social),
problem-solving, organizing, reasoning, and perspective-taking.
ü PBL promotes character values of responsibility, cooperation,
dependability, trust, trustworthiness, accountability, respect, and
fairness.
ü PBL works very well online.
ü And PBL is fun for students and instructors.
TWO PROBLEM STRATEGIES
1. Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
2. Means-End Analysis (MEA)

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

A. Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
• Creative problem-solving isn’t just brainstorming,
although that’s what many people may associate it with.

• It’s a well-defined process that can help you from

problem definition to implementing solutions, according
to Jeffrey Baumgartner.
CPS STEPS
I. Clarify and identify the problem
II. Research the problem
III. Formulate creative challenges
IV. Generate ideas
V. Combine and evaluate the ideas
VI. Draw up an action plan
VII. Do it! (implement the ideas)
I. CLARIFY AND IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
• Arguably the single most important step of CPS is identifying
your real problem or goal. This may seem easy, but very often,
what we believe to be the problem is not the real problem or
goal. For instance, you may feel you need a new job. However,
if you break down your problem and analyze what you are
really looking for, it may transpire that the actual issue is that
your income does not cover your costs of living. In this case,
the solution may be a new job, but it might also be to re-arrange
your expenses or to seek a pay raise from your existing
employer.
II. RESEARCH THE PROBLEM
• The next step in CPS is to research the problem in
order to get a better understanding of it. Depending
on the nature of the problem, you may need to do a
great deal of research or very little.
 III. FORMULATE CREATIVE CHALLENGES
• By now, you should be clear on the real issues behind your problems
or goals. The next step is to turn these issues into creative challenges.
A creative challenge is basically a simple question framed to encourage
suggestions or ideas. Starts with these basic questions “In what ways
might I [or we]…?” or “How might I…?” or “How could I…?”

• Creative challenges should be simple, concise, and focus on a single

issue.
IV. GENERATE IDEAS
• We come to the part most people associate with brainstorming and
creative problem-solving: idea generation. And you probably know
how this works. Take only one creative challenge. Give yourself
some quiet time and try to generate enough ideas that may or may
not solve the challenge. You can do this alone or you can invite
some friends or family members to help you.
V. COMBINE AND EVALUATE THE IDEAS
• After you have written down all of your ideas, take a break. It
might just be an hour. It might be a day or more. Then go
through the ideas. Related ideas can be combined together to
form big ideas (or idea clusters).
• Then, using the criteria you devised earlier, choose all of the
ideas that broadly meet those criteria. This is important. If you
focus only on the “best” ideas or your favorite ideas, the
chances are you will choose the less creative ones! Nevertheless,
feel free to include your favorite ideas in the initial list of ideas.
VI. DRAW UP AN ACTION PLAN
• At this point, you have some great ideas. However, a lot of
people have trouble motivating themselves to take the next step.
• Creative ideas may mean big changes or taking risks. Some of
us love change and risk. Others are scared by it. Draw up an
action plan with the simple steps you need to take in order to
implement your ideas. Ideas that involve a lot work to
implement can be particularly intimidating. Breaking their
implementation down into a series of readily accomplished
tasks makes these ideas easier to cope with and implement.
VII. DO IT! IMPLEMENT THE IDEAS

• This is the simplest step of all. Take your action

plan and implement your idea. And if the situation
veers away from your action plan steps, don’t
worry. Rewrite your action plan!
 CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem:

Generate
ideas:
Best idea:

Elaborate
and refine:
Current State:

Desired State:

Necessary
Steps/Things to
do:
B. MEANS END ANALYSIS

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Department of Languages & Literature

MEANS END ANALYSIS
• Means-End Analysis (MEA) is a problem-solving
technique that has been used since the fifties of the last
century to stimulate creativity. Means-End Analysis is
also a way of looking at organizational planning and
helps in achieving the end goals.
MEANS END ANALYSIS
• With Means End Analysis, it is possible to control the entire process of
problem-solving. It starts from a predetermined goal, in which actions
are chosen that lead to that goal.
• Each action that is executed leads to the next action; everything is
connected together in order to reach the end goal. In the meantime,
however, problems may arise. It is often hard to determine where exactly
the crux is.
MEANS END ANALYSIS
• With the help of Means End Analysis, both forward
and backward research can be done to determine where
the stagnation is occurring. This enables the larger parts
of a problem to be solved first, to subsequently return
to the smaller problems afterward.
ACTIVITY: Constructing Key Questions for PBL
• Using the K-12 Curriculum in EsP, choose 5 learning
competencies from different quarters, identify the
content standards and construct key questions that can
motivate students to engage in a PrBL activity. Use the
table provided.
ACTIVITY: Constructing Key Questions for PBL
Quarter/Topic Learning Content Standard Open-ended
Competencies Questions
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