Problem Based Learning PBL

Problem Based Learning PBLIntroductionProblem-based accomplishment (PBL) is a pedagogical machine in which scholars engage in a puzzle without introductory association they work to solve the problem by exploitation existing knowledge and applying it to the situation in order to reach a solution (Wirkala Kuhn, 2011). The National Council of Teachers of math describes technology as an essential element in teaching and learn math (NCTM, 2000). The use of computers influences the math that is taught and p atomic number 18nts drill-age childs theatre (2000). When utilize effectively, technology brook be a tremendous tool for accomplishment. Computers can be applyas an environment for exploring numeral concepts through interaction (Huetinck Munshin, 2008, p. 87). In this speculate, learners pull up stakes explore numeric concepts using computers via a problem-based teaching advancement. Specifically, this look for oeuvre will investigate how computer-assist ed PBL effects student elicit and attainment in a spirited school math figure. Much explore has been d oneness to investigate PBL in medicine and comprehension. in that respect has been to a greater extent(prenominal) than research in mathematics education that investigates the effects of PBL on doing than of PBL and interest. I would like to canvass both of these factors. The question of interest is as follows How do using computers to teach problem-based knowledge (PBL) in high school mathematics material bodyrooms increase student interest and effect in mathematics?Following the introduction, in section 2, relevant literature to the highest degree PBL will be discussed. In section 3, the statistical rules will be stated. In section 4, the analysis of the info will be presented. In section 5, my conclusion and discussion will be given.Literature go overPBL in MedicineVarious research workers in the medical field rent studied problem-based learning for quit e some time. In the 1980s and 1990s, PBL was used in medical schools and began to be accepted by schools in spousal kind America and Europe (Savery, 2006). Researchers call for studied how PBL effects exertion and/or knowledge. One crowd of researchers studied academician achievement of students in devil medical schools (Verhoeven, Verwijnen, Scherpbier, Holdrinet, Oeseburg, Bulte, Van Der Vleuten, 1998). One school had a PBL instructional cast and the other used a non-PBL instructional design. Test results drawed no world-shattering differences on total test win. afterwards the test was split into trio categories, a few, non-systematic differences were engraft (p. 310). Hmelo (1999) studied how PBL in medical education can affect cognitive skill. The study make up that the PBL students change magnitude the accuracy of their hypotheses more than the nonPBL students (p. 197). The conclusion of the findings show that using a PBL approach in medical education does make a difference in what students learn. A nonher study examined students transactions on Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States health check Licensing Examination(USMLE) following the implementation of a problem-based learning curriculum (Blake, Hosokawa, Riley, 2000, p. 66). This study examine lots and raise that students in the PBL clanes shootd high on USMLE Step 1 than did students in the tralatitious classes. For the USMLE Step 2, the mean(a) test score for students in the PBL classes were above the national destine. In contrast, score were below the national mean for classes in the traditional curriculum (p. 66). Based on the data, the study cerebrate that the use of a PBL curriculum as a major educational method during the first dickens years of medical school does not compromise performance on standardized tests (p. 69). Other researchers run aground that in a PBL political program in that respect were crucial knowledge gain (Schwartz, Donnelly, Sloan, Young, 1994, p. 148). association gain was careful by giving students a pre and posttest. Students were administered an NBME surgery shelf examination on the first day of the clerkship (pretest) and a different one of the last day (posttest) (p. 148). other study compared clinical performances in a medical clerkship of students who were enrolled in a class that used a PBL approach versus students who were enrolled in a class that used a traditional hyphen approach (Richards, Ober, Cariaga-Lo, Camp, Philp, McFarlane, Rupps, Zaccaro, 1996). The PBL participants consisted of 88 third year internal medicine students. The lecture-based learning (LBL) participants consisted of 364 students in the same program. The researchers compared examination scores between the two concourses. The results distinguish that the students who had completed two years in the PBL curriculum had a higher(prenominal) medicine clerkship rating (p. 189). Thus, this study learnd that a PBL curriculum may enha nceclinical performances (p. 187). A identical study was performed in a postgraduate medical education program in The Netherlands. The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning in comparison with lecture-based learning (Smits, de Buisonje, Verbeek, Dijk, Metz, Cate, 2003, p. 280). Knowledge, in name of achievement, was measured by tests. They found that under PBL instruction, performance increased more. In the conclusion, the researchers state that this study shows evidence that the problem-based program has some small otiose value for the participants in improving their performance (p. 285).Although there is a particular amount of research on the impacts of PBL on interest, there fox been a few researchers to study this situation. Biley (1999) studied PBL in a nursing program. The study found that there were both advantages and harms of using PBL in instruction. A disadvantage the study found is that tension occurred during the subroutine of changin g from more traditional forms of education to PBL (p. 587). The findings in like manner showed benefits of PBL which coincide with previous studies the benefits include the recognition of increased self-motivation, team work, and a more accurate theoretical representation in the classroom (p. 588). Smits, et. al (2003) studied students satisfaction in addition to knowledge. bliss was measured by a rating. Researchers found that the problem-based group was squarely little satisfied than the lecture-based group (p. 284). Another study found dissimilar data relating to interest and enjoyment. Sobral (1995) found that PBL students had a higher level of enjoyment and inform that they enjoyed their learning experience and would be more plausibly to look for studies in the same field (99). The researchers concluded that the PBL approach can improve the fiber of the learning environment in both cognitive and emotional slipway (p. 93).PBL in Science EducationResearchers in experienc e education have also studied the impacts of problem-based learning on achievement. One study (Grses, Akyldz, Doar, Szbilir, 2007) examined the impact of PBL in a physical interpersonal chemistry laboratory class. Researchers looked at students carriages towards a chemistry laboratory course, scientific process skills of students, and their academic achievement in relation to PBL (p. 99). They found that subsequently students were unresolved to PBL, their test scores were considerably higher. A similar study was make in a chemistry class. Tarhan and Acar (2007) examined how effective PBL is in increasing student achievement. Results from the post-testshowed that PBL is effective on students achievement (Tarhan, Acar, 2007, p. 351). One group of researchers investigated the effects of PBL for female person students enrolled in a STEM program (Lou, Diez, Tseng, 2011). They found that students tended to gain more solid acquisition and mathematics knowledge through STEM learning in PBL (Lou, Diez, Tseng, 2011, p. 195). Another study investigated PBL in science by conducting research using an experimental (PBL group) and control group (textbook group) (Inel Balim, 2010). Researchers examined how PBL affected academic achievement they found a significant difference between the groups. Specifically, researchers concluded the problem-based learning method in scienceteaching is more effective in enhancing students academic achievement than simply using the sciencecurriculum (Inel Balim, 2010, p. 16). Similarly, Sungur, Tekkaya, and Geban (2006) conducted a study to examine the effect of PBL on academic achievement and performance in a biology class. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups the control or experimental group. Students were given a pre- and post-test that measured academic achievement and performance. Researchers concluded that PBl instruction caused a significantly better accomplishment of scientific conceptions than the tradi tional instruction (Sungur, Tekkaya, Geban, 2006, p. 158). Akinolue and Tandoan (2007) investigated PBL in science education. They self- salt away research to determine how PBL effects achievement, locating, and concept learning. Researchers concluded that the implementation of problem-based active learning computer simulation had positively affected students academic achievement in the science course (Akinolue Tandoan, 2007, p. 71). Chang (2001) conducted research in several 10th grade science classes to study how problem-based computer-assisted instruction (PBCAI) impacts science achievement (p. 147). The researcher compared the PBCAI to a direct-interactive teaching method (DITM) (p. 147). He determined that more students in the PBCAI group had higher scores than the DITM group in terms of achievement. Chang concluded, the PBCAI was more effective in promoting students achievement than was the DITM (p. 147). Liu, Hsieh, Cho, and Schallert (2006) studied self-efficacy, attitu des, and achievement in a computer-enhanced PBL class. This study is similar to the research of the present study. The participants of interest in this study were middle school students. Researchers pile up data from 549 sixth graders from two middle schools. Data was collected from a pretest/posttest, questionnaire, and interviews. Data indicated an increase in students science achievement and self-efficacy for learning science after their engagement in a computer-enhanced PBL environment (Liu, Hsieh, Cho, Schallert, 2006, p. 225).Researchers in science education have also studied the impacts of problem-based learning on student interest in and attitude of science. Grses, Akyldz, Doar, and Szbilir (2007) collected data from a physical chemistry lab regarding students attitudes towards the class through a PBL treatment. They found students attitudes towardsthe course were not changed significantly after PBL treatment (p. 109). Liu, Hsieh, Cho, and Schallert (2006) found an increas e in science achievement in a computer-enhanced PBL class. They also collected data about students attitudes towards science. Based on their findings, they found no significant change. Besides studying achievement in a PBL class, Tarhan and Acar (2007), also conducted student interviews and found that students enrolled in the PBL class were more motivated (p. 351). Motivation relates to attitude in and interest of science. Another study, by Ferreira and Trudel (2012), investigated how a PBL curriculum in science impacts student attitudes toward science. Participants answered survey questions, wrote in student journals, and took an assessment. Data was gathered from these instruments in addition to teacher observations (Ferreira Trudel, 2012). Researchers found that there was a significant increase in student attitudes towards science (Ferreira Trudel, 2012, p. 23). Lou, Diez, and Tsend (2011), who studied the effects of PBL for female students enrolled in a STEM program collected data connect to student attitudes (Lou, Diez, Tseng, 2011). Researchers found that the participants from the PBL curriculum attitude towards STEM improved. Akinolue and Tandoan (2007) investigated the effects of PBL in science education. They collected data to determine how PBL effects students attitude towards science. Researchers concluded that the implementation of problem-based active learning model had positively affected studentsattitudes towards the science course (Akinolue Tandoan, 2007, p. 71). Nancy Cerezo (2004) examined PBL in middle school math and science classes. The study investigated students perceptions of PBL in regards to its effectiveness and students interest in the content.Results from the study indicated that students perceived problem-based learning encouraged their interest and provided a more in-depth understanding of the concepts. Students indicated that problem-based learning helped them learn more about a outlet and created a feeling of excitement a bout coming to class. (Cerezo, 2004, p. 9)This study link up to the present study since it investigated PBL in mathematics and how students interest in mathematics changes.All research pointed to increased achievement or improved knowledge when a PBL curriculum was implemented in a science classroom. Grses, Akyldz, Doar, and Szbilir Liu, Hsieh, Cho, and Schallert provided conclusions that were contradictory to the findings of Tarhan and Acar Akinolue and Tandoan Lou, Diez, and Tseng Ferreira and Trudel and Cerezo in regards to interest in the subject or motivation. Specifically, the latter being the researchers who saw a significant difference in interest towards the subject. That is, that they found that there is a relationship between PBL and increased interest in a subject.PBL in math EducationIn mathematics education, PBL is relatively new, but many researchers have found that it is effective in increasing achievement. One team of researchers found no statistically significant data in favor of PBL (Tarmizi, Tarmizi, Lojinin, Mokhtar, 2010). Researchers conducted a study to investigate the effects of PBL on mathematical performance, measure of instructional efficiency, and perceived advantages or disadvantages of the approach (Tarmizi, Tarmizi, Lojinin, Mokhtar, 2010, p. 4683). They used a quasi-experimental design and gathered data via a posttest. Each variable of interest of the study was measured using a particular(prenominal) tool. First, scores from tests measured mathematics performance(p. 4685). Next, researchers collected data for mental effort via a nine-point symmetrical category eggshell (p. 4685). Efficiency index is a term which shows the relationship between learning and test (mental) effort and performance (p. 4685). Researchers used a mathematical recipe to calculate data for this variable. Last, affective attributes were measured using Likert-style questions. Researchers found that the average scores for the overall achievement for t he PBL group were greater than the control group. After researchers statistical analyzed the data, they determined that the mean difference was not statistically significant (p. 2685). Another group of researchers, Clarke, Breed, and Fraser (2004), studied participants at three high schools in California. Researchers investigated how a problem-based mathematics curriculum, the Interactive Mathematics Program ( elf) were related to student achievement (p. 8). Researchers also collected data to measure achievement or mathematical performance. They compared PBL/IMP students to their peers in conventional classes. This data came in the form of test scores from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Findings show that IMP students averaged higher SAT scores than did pupils of conventional classes (p. 14). PBL was studied in another area of mathematics, Statistics (Tarmizi Bayat, 2011). Researchers compared data between a PBL group and a conventional group. Two posttests were administered a nd the scores were analyzed. They concluded that there was a significant difference between the mean performance of the PBL group and that of the conventional group indicating PBL efficacy (p. 344). Bostic and Jacobbe (2010) studied PBL in a fifth grade mathematics classroom. Researchers collected data by administering a pre-test, posttest, and student interviews. Data from the pre-test and posttest showed statistically significant growth in students ability to solve problems correctly (Bostic Jacobbe, 2010).Similarly, there has been some research to investigate the relationship between PBL and interest in mathematics. An indication that students are interested in mathematics is the students level of engagement. Tarmizi, Tarmizi, Lojinin, and Mokhtar (2010) also studied the effect of PBL and student engagement. Student engagement was measured by an open-ended survey. The mean average rubric engagement score was a 2.08, which indicated that the PBL group had benefited from the lear ning experiences with a proficient level (Tarmizi et al., 2010, p. 4687). Another research team studied the relationship of PBL in mathematics and student perceptions of mathematics (Clarke, Breed, Fraser, 2004). A problem-based mathematics curriculum, the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP), was implemented in three California high schools (p. 7). Researchers collected data from two questionnaires. The Mathematics Belief questionnaire examined student perceptions of their mathematical competence, and student beliefs about mathematical military action and the origins of mathematical ideas (p. 9). The Mathematics World questionnaire required students to identify the extent to which specific everyday activities were mathematical (p. 9). In comparison to traditional Algebra classes, researchers found that IMP students help a significantly more positive attitude towards mathematics (p. 14). The IMP participants also felt more mathematically able than their peers (p. 14). engross of computers in mathematicsIn mathematics, using computers and other related technologies to enhance instruction can greatly affect student achievement. Computers can be usedas an environment for exploring mathematical concepts through interaction (Huetinck Munshin, 2008, p. 87). When students are actively interacting with new ideas, their level of engagement and knowledge increases. Computers enable students to readily explore many varied examples to generalize about the underlying characteristics of mathematical entities (p. 89). If students can make more generalizations, they will be more likely to be able to apply the concepts later. One group of researchers investigated how implementing a propellant geometric software such as Geometers Sketchpad (GSP) affects mathematics teaching (Nordin, Zaharia, Mohamed, Embi, 2010). They found that this exploratory learning method and the discussions involved in understanding the mathematical concepts adopted from the gsp digital module can help boost higher order thinking skills (Nordin, Zaharia, Mohamed, Embi, 2010, p. 116). OCallaghan (1998) found that a computer program implemented in Algebra had greater achievement than their peers did in traditional algebra classes. Palmiter (1991) conducted research with university students and compared achievement between students enrolled in a class taught using a computer algebra system and students enrolled in a class taught using paper-and-pencil computations (1991). The researcher found that students enrolled in the class that was taught with the computer system had higher test scores for both the conceptual and computational exam (1991). Ragasa (2008) investigated the effects of computer-assisted instruction on achievement of college students in a statistics course. The researcher found that the mean score of the posttest of the achievement test for the computer-assisted group was significantly higher than that of the control group (Ragasa, 2008).In mathematics, the use o f computers to aid instruction can improve students attitude and interest in mathematics. Ragasa (2008) also studied students attitudes in response to computer-assisted instruction. The researcher was unable to conclude that there was a significant effect on student attitude. OCallaghan (1998) studied the effects of Computer-Intensive Algebra (CIA) and traditional algebra curricula on students understanding of the run concept (p. 21). Among other findings, OCallaghan discovered that the CIA students attitudes were significantly different higher (1998). Another study examined college students attitudes towards using computers as an instructional aid in an Algebra class (Ganguli, 1992). The researcher determined that the attitudes of the students in the computer group were significantly increased.I hypothesize that in high school mathematics, problem-based learning, through the use of computers, will increase student interest and achievement. Previous studies have demonstrated simila r findings. In the following section, methods will be discussed.