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Problem-Based Learning (Mike Bonnie, USA, 01/27/11 8:18 am)

Rodolfo Neirotti wrote on 27 Januayr:

"Problem-based formative learning reflects the growing interest of universities in identifying the best way of coping with the demands of the new century by modernizing the education of professionals because of the imperative to align professional competencies in an interdependent world."

Problem-based learning may have originated in the medical field, however that approach to teaching and learning is not new in primary and secondary schools. It first came to my attention three or four years ago around the time Finland topped the list of countries studied by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). "Student-centered" learning, a component of problem-based learning, preceded the latter for decades. A discussion has ensued on the National Education Association forum following a book published in 2010 by Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond, The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, New York: Teachers College Press (Columbia U), 2010, and a preview of such published in the NEA Today magazine, "What we can learn from Finland's successful school reform," and on the web: http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm . People can follow NEA discussions, including my rants on this topic, and other subjects by signing up as a member (at no charge).

Congratulations to Henry Levin on being honored at Maastricht.

JE comments:  I suspect our own Francisco Ramirez must know Prof. Darling-Hammond.  I'd love to hear his thoughts.

Rants from Mike Bonnie?  Unthinkable!

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