What is PBL? & 5 Problem-Based Learning Examples

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” ~Albert Einstein

Problem solving is a life skill that goes far beyond the classroom. The best education is an education that teaches critical and strategic thinking and allows students to meet life’s problems and challenges with an open mind and the confidence to find a solution.

At Alludo, we’re big believers in problem-based learning, an active-learning strategy that prepares students for the realities of life by encouraging them to use strategic thinking to arrive at solutions that work. We’ve included problem-based learning activities in our professional development catalog because we believe that using PBL in the classroom can help teachers help students. Here’s what you need to know about PBL plus five problem-based learning examples to inspire you.

Table of Contents

1. What is Problem-Based Learning?
   
2. What Are the Steps in Problem-Based Learning?
   1. Choose a Central Concept or Principle
   2. Think of a Real-World Context for the Problem
   3. Introduce the Problem in Stages
   4. Write a Teacher's Guide
   5. Provide Students with Key Resources
3. What Are Examples of Problem-Based Learning?
   1. Plan a Road Trip
   2. Create a Sustainable City
   3. Choose and Craft a Voyage Around the World
   4. Plan a Zoo Habitat
   5. Codebreak Math Equations
4. What Are Challenges in Problem-Based Learning?
5. Alludo's Take
6. Encourage Teachers in Your District to Innovate with Problem-Based Learning

What is Problem-Based Learning?

Problem-based learning, or PBL, is an inquiry-based learning method that uses complex, real-world problems to help students learn. It stands in contrast to some traditional teaching methods where teachers present facts and concepts directly to students.

The strictest presentation of PBL would involve a teacher using PBL for an entire semester or school year. However, in practice, teachers use it in a variety of ways. It may be most useful when used in lab situations or design projects. It may also be used to initiate discussions.

PBL promotes the development of critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and communication in students and may be used when students work in groups.

Problems may vary widely depending upon the class or context, but effective PBL problems share the following characteristics:

• They must motivate students to understand concepts on a deep level.
• They should incorporate content objectives and connect them to previous knowledge.
• They should require students to make decisions and defend them using logical reasoning and critical thinking skills.
• For group projects, problems need enough complexity to require students to work together and arrive at a solution.
• For multi-stage projects, initial steps must be open-ended and engaging to get students invested in solving the problem.

Teachers should tie the material being used to real-world situations and develop a problem that incorporates previous lessons while still challenging students to apply what they have learned. Ideally, complex problems should be introduced in stages and teachers should identify important resources and provide them as a jumping-off point for students.

Teachers may distribute PBL problems using three techniques:

• Case study. The problem is submitted to PBL students in writing.
• Role playing. Students improvise scenes based on descriptions of key players.
• Simulation. Students use a computer-based program to simulate a problem.

The common characteristic is that any problem presented to students must have its roots in a real-world situation.

What Are the Steps in Problem-Based Learning?

Teachers who wish to incorporate problem-based learning in the classroom should follow these steps to create a problem and introduce it to students.

Choose a Central Concept of Principle

The first step is to select a central concept or principle for students to learn. The concept chosen should be one that’s typically included in a given course. The problem should be similar to a typical problem that would be assigned at the end of a chapter to help students learn the concept.

After choosing a central concept, the teacher should develop a list of student learning objectives for students to meet as they research the problem and determine the best way to solve it.

Think of a Real-World Context for the Problem

At this stage, teachers need to develop a real-world context that will allow students to work their way through the problem and use appropriate resources to develop a solution. Some options include the following:

• Introducing a storytelling aspect to create an example of a real-world problem.
• Find an actual, real-world case that can be adapted by adding motivation for students to solve the problem.

Magazines, newspapers, articles, and TV news can all provide ideas for real-world problems, as can talking to professionals in the field to get their ideas.

Introduce the Problem in Stages

Introduce the problem in stages to help students identify learning issues and inspire students to research the concepts being targeted. Here are some questions that can help in the development of the stages:

• What should the first stage look like and which open-ended questions can be asked? Remember that all questions should be linked to the concepts students are learning.
• How will the problem itself be structured?
• How long will it take students to solve the problem?
• Will students receive additional information at later stages of the problem?
• What resources will students need to begin?
• What should the end product look like?

Asking these questions can help teachers develop stages that make sense and guide students as they work toward a solution.

Write a Teacher's Guide

The teacher should prepare a guide with detailed plans for instruction related to the problem. The guide should spell out plans to cycle through the problem using different modes of learning. It may also include alternative options.

Any problem being presented in a sizable class may include a combination of whole-class discussions plus small group work and mini-lectures to ensure that all students receive the support they need.

Provide Students with Key Resources

PBL requires teachers to provide students with some (but not all) resources they will need to complete the problem being presented. It is important to leave some of the knowledge resourcing to students, so they learn how to identify good resources and use them independently.

Where students may need help is in understanding offline resources, including the library and how to use it, since many of today’s digital natives may be inclined to rely solely on the internet for research.

What Are Examples of Problem-Based Learning?

Now, let’s look at some problem-based learning examples that teachers can use as inspiration to develop new problems to inspire and educate their students.

#1: Plan a Road Trip

Planning a road trip is a real-world problem that students may already have experienced on one level if they’ve traveled with their families. 

Using a road trip as a PBL assignment incorporates a variety of disciplines, including geography, social sciences, environmental sciences, and math. Students should plan every aspect of the trip, including the route to be taken, points of interest to be visited along the way, expenses, and fuel consumption.

#2: Create a Sustainable City

It would be hard to imagine a real-world problem more pressing than the issue of figuring out how we can live sustainably and avoid burning through our natural resources.

Students can work together, using their personal observations and research, to think about the problems that cities face regarding sustainability and coming up with ideas to address them.

#3: Choose and Craft a Voyage Around the World

A voyage around the world poses challenges that allow students to tap into a variety of subjects, including geography, world culture, social studies, and even velocity and flotation.

Students should consider modes of transportation, time frames, weather, and more, before they present their results.

#4: Plan a Zoo Habitat

This PBL assignment could begin with a visit to the zoo, where students can observe animals in habitats and speak to zookeepers about what it’s like to care for animals in a zoo.

After that, students should pick an animal, consider where they live naturally and what they eat, and use biology and environmental science to plan a habitat where the animal can live.

#5: Codebreak Math Equations

Instead of solving the usual equations, this PBL example puts students in the roles of professional codebreakers.

They will use logic, critical thinking skills, and mathematics to decrypt a code and craft a response to it, using a code of their own.

What Are Challenges in Problem-Based Learning?

Implementing a problem-based learning process in the classroom does have some challenges and teachers must work to overcome these to make sure that students get the most of the problems they work on.

• Students may not have prepared for PBL in their past studies. They may need some hand-holding and guidance if they’ve never worked on a real-world problem before.
• PBL can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of prep for teachers.
• Since students work in groups, there may be group dynamic issues to address and teachers must keep an eye on students.
• PBL requires buy-in and support from staff and educational leaders. Without full support, it can be difficult to implement PBL in the classroom.

Teachers and administrators should work together before the PBL process is implemented to brainstorm ideas and identify potential issues.

Alludo’s Take

Alludo partners with school districts around the country to provide them with a dynamic professional learning environment that drives engagement and supports teachers. Because we know that teachers are always looking for ways to engage their students, we have included PBL missions in the Alludo content catalog.

By completing our missions, teachers learn the pros and cons of PBL and how to implement it. The result is that teachers are encouraged to innovate in the classroom. In other words, engaged teachers are likely to have engaged students, too!

Encourage Teachers in Your District to Innovate with Problem-Based Learning

Bringing PBL into the classroom gives teachers an engaging framework to help students learn. When teachers innovate, students are more likely to be engaged in their schoolwork and the result is improved student achievement and better outcomes.

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