Problem Based Learning and the Knowledge Creation Metaphor

 Three Metaphors of Learning

Learning theories can be considered within a structure of three metaphors:  the "knowledge acquisition" metaphor, the "learning-as-participation" metaphor (Sfard, 1998:4) and the Knowledge Creation metaphor (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1996; Paavola et al., 2004). 

The Knowledge Acquisition metaphor includes the traditional school teaching approach where the teacher acts as the fountain of knowledge and the student is the empty vessel, a tabula rasa to be filled with knowledge.  Thus the learner's goal is to gain this knowledge and the teachers’ goal is to transmit it.

The Learning as Participation metaphor includes the traditional master and apprentice model of learning in the work place but has gained recognition within schools; it gives the student a more active role in the learning process. 

The Knowledge Creation metaphor is slow to be recognised in education.  Some teachers instinctively use this approach.  The students take more responsibility for their own learning and the teacher takes on a facilitatory role encouraging students to work together, come up with their own ideas, then research and test their ideas in a dynamic process of improving their knowledge and understanding. 

Problem based learning fits somewhere across the participation and knowledge creation metaphors.

PBL and the Knowledge Creation Metaphor

Scardamalia and Berieter’s Knowledge Building model (1996) sees the creation of knowledge to be generated by ideas but requiring a sustained and progressive problem solving process.  

Paavola et al. (2004) defined the characteristics of the Knowledge Creation metaphor.  I shall argue that many of these characteristics are also be part of the PBL approach.

• The pursuit of Newness- The ill structured open problems given to students allow them to peruse their own ideas and to come up with unique, new solutions.
• Viewing Knowledge Creation as a social process- Collaborative work in a group wiki or in a discussion forum is a social process towards the solution of the problem.
• Going beyond propositional and Conceptual Knowledge- Developing a solution to the problem and reflecting on this process requires higher order thinking.
• Recognising Conceptualisations and conceptual Artifacts as important- Student ideas and hypothesis are a focus of PBL with testing and research around these ideas being a major part of the PBL process.
• Interaction around and through shared objects. - Objects such as spreadsheets or forums for discussion become the shared objects that students share and interact with in the problem solving process.
  

Wagner (2004) identifies key team attributes that assist the emergence of knowledge.  He refers to dynamically changing knowledge supported by technology.  Open inquiry and ill defined problems of PBL allow for the framing and reframing of the problem, a back-and-forth (recursive) process that supports this dynamic changing view of knowledge. Wagner refers to distributed knowledge and how collective knowledge can be superior to the knowledge of any individual. The small group discussions in PBL pool individual strengths and resources.  Wagner discusses errors and recovery or quality assurance that can be done by the group members as they can fix the mistakes of individuals.  Finally, he talks of publication overhead suggesting that the knowledge content should be the primary concern, not the technology. This relates to the intuitive nature of the user interface. The easy to use Web 2.0 tools for PBL can provide this low publication overhead.

 “...research has demonstrated that authentic tasks with real audiences have resulted in increased learning, stronger writing, and longer retention of learning and even increased performance on standardised tests of writing.  But more than test score results, students engaged in building knowledge products for others develop a sense of purpose and value.  They contribute to their community.”    (Riel, 2000,cited in Wagner, 2004) (607 words)

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The Learning theories that underpin Problem Based Learning.

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References

Paavola, S., Lipponen, L. & Hakkarained, K. (2004) Models of innovative knowledge commuinities and the three metaphors of learning.  Review of Educational Research, 74, Iss 4, 557-577.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1996) Computer support for knowledge-building communities. In T. Koschmann (Ed), CLS: Thoery and practice of an emerging paradigm (pp. 249-268). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum associates. D.O.I.:[1996]

Sfard, A. (1998) On tow metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27 (2), 4-13.

Wagner, C. (2004) Wiki: A technology for conversational Knowledge Management and Group Collaboration. Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume13, 2004) 265-289