PBL Journal Review

This article was introducing what a Problem Based Learning assignment is, and the benefits of such an assignment. The author stressed that these types of problems are important because they improve students problem solving skills and challenges their higher order thinking, while combining previous knowledge while working on a long term project. The author believes that the teacher needs to teach the material in the PBL beforehand, and the PBL should then be a creative approach to ensure that the students know the material and can apply it to real world situations or challenges. The author then continued on to say that PBL assignments improve test grades because while completing a PBL, the teacher should be more focused on the process of getting the answer and how the students came to find the answer. While completing a more typical assignment;such as an exam, students are more focused on finding the correct answer, and may not know exactly how to do that. Studies show that students educated in the traditional content-based learning environments exhibit lower achievement both on standardized tests and on project tests dealing with realistic situations than students who learn through a project-based approach. (Roh, 2003) The article concludes by explaining the teachers role, and how the teacher needs to guide students in their knowledge and need to encourage students to use their problem solving skills to discover the answer.
I thought this was a very beneficial article; because the author explained what the expectations are of a PBL and backed up their main points with specific results from previous studies. My favorite part of the journal is how the author connected the PBL experience with the NCTM Process Standards. This helps the reader justify why this is an important teaching strategy and why they should implement this into their classroom. The author believed the main point or lesson that should be learned through completing a PBL in a mathematics classroom is giving students a new challenge, while connecting the real world to the mathematics classroom. One of the weaknesses that I picked up from introducing the PBL into your classroom is the change of character the role is of the teacher. Instead of introducing or teaching, the teacher now needs to play more of encouraging role in the classroom. The author recommends that the teacher does not give out any knowledge while completing the PBL, instead the teacher needs to keep the students encouraged and focused. This new job in the classroom can be very difficult for some teachers, and may be the reason some teachers may not try this in their classroom.

Roh, K.H. (2003). Problem-based learning in mathematics. (Eric's Digest).
http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-3/math.html

*There wasn't a volume number or issue number for this journal article.