Over the recent decades, much empirical evidence has shown the benefits of problem-based learning (PBL) over traditional teacher-centred pedagogy. However, research on problem-based learning (PBL) has focused more on students’ learning outcomes and less on what it might take for teachers to implement it, especially in primary school and in education systems such as Taiwan, where its principles deviate from customary practice. Issues concerning how PBL, which initially derived from the adult medical education field, can be applied to primary education, remain poorly understood. This study examines what was involved for a teacher while she implemented a 1-year PBL intervention in a year 5 (ages 10–11) mathematics classroom in Taiwan. On the basis of the evidence in this paper, we provide a realistic account of the teacher’s pedagogical practice and how she changed, or further developed her pedagogies in order to adapt to PBL. The findings from our study brought important messages for teachers and educators when implementing PBL at primary education level. With a focus on the teacher’s pedagogical changes, implications for primary teachers when implementing PBL are discussed.
Keywords: Problem-based learning (PBL) Primary teachers Pedagogical changes TaiwanAn Analysis of the Failure(s) of South Korea’s National English Ability Test
Baliga, G., Case, J., Merkle, W., Stephan, F., & Wiehagen, W. (2008). When unlearning helps. Information and Computation, 206(5), 694–709.
Ball, D. L., Lubienski, S., & Mewborn, D. (2001). Research on teaching mathematics: The unsolved problem of teachers’ mathematical knowledge. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 433–456). New York: Macmillan.
Barrows, H. S., & Myers, A. C. (1993). Problem-based learning in secondary schools. Springfield: Problem-Based Learning Institute, Lanipher High School, and Southern Illinois Medical School.
Barrows, H. S., & Tamblyn, R. M. (1980). Problem-based learning: An approach to medical education. New York: Springer.
Bridges, S., Botelho, M., Green, J., & Chau, A. M. (2012). Multimodality in problem-based learning (PBL): An interactional ethnography. In S. Bridges, C. McGrath, & T. L. Whitehill (Eds.), Problem-based learning in clinical education (Vol. 8, pp. 99–120). The Netherlands: Springer.
Brophy, J. E. (2010). Motivating students to learn. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Carlucci, L., & Case, J. (2013). On the necessity of U-shaped learning. Topics in Cognitive Science, 5(1), 56–88.
Chiu, M.-S., & Whitebread, D. (2011). Taiwanese teachers’ implementation of a new ‘constructivist mathematics curriculum’: How cognitive and affective issues are addressed. International Journal of Educational Development, 31(2), 196–206.
Chye, S. Y., Liau, A. K., & Liu, W. C. (2013). Student teachers’ motivation and perceptions of E-portfolio in the context of problem-based learning. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 22(4), 367.
Clark, A. (2006). Changing classroom practice to include the project approach. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 8(2). http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n2/clark.html.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative enquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Gallagher, S. A. (2015). The role of problem-based learning in developing creative expertise. Asia Pacific Education Review, 16(2), 225–235.
Gijbels, D., Dochy, F., Van den Bossche, P., & Segers, M. (2005). Effects of problem-based learning: A meta-analysis from the angle of assessment. Review of Educational Research, 75(1), 27–61.
Hak, T., & Maguire, P. (2000). Group process: The black box of studies on problem-based learning. Academic Medicine, 75, 769–772.
Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Duncan, R. G., & Chinn, C. A. (2007). Scaffolding and achievement in problem-based and inquiry learning: a response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). Educational Psychologist, 42(2), 99–107.
Hung, W. (2011). Theory to reality: A few issues in implementing problem-based learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 529–552.
Hung, W., Mehl, K., & Holen, J. B. (2013). The relationships between problem design and learning process in problem-based learning environments: Two cases. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 22(4), 635–645.
Jacobs, V. R., Lamb, L. L. C., & Philipp, R. A. (2010). Professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 41, 169–202.
Li, H.-C. (2012). Implementing problem-based learning in a Taiwanese elementary classroom: A case study of challenges and strategies. Research in Mathematics Education, 14(1), 89–90.
Li, H.-C. & Stylianides, A. J. (2018). An examination of the roles of the teacher and students during a problem-based learning intervention: Lessons learned from a study in a Taiwanese primary mathematics classroom. Interactive Learning Environments, 26(1), 106–117.
Lewis, R., Romi, S., Qui, X., & Katz, Y. J. (2005). Teachers’ classroom discipline and student misbehavior in Australia. China and Israel, Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(6), 729–741.
Lubienski, S. T. (2000). Problem solving as a means toward mathematics for all: An exploratory look through a class lens. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 31(4), 454–482.
Reeve, J., Jang, H., Carrell, D., Jeon, S., & Barch, J. (2004). Enhancing students’ engagement by increasing teachers’ autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28(2), 147–169.
Schmidt, H. G. (1983). Problem-based learning: Rationale and description. Medical Education, 17, 11–16.
Schmidt, H. G., Van der Molen, H. T., Te Winkel, W. W. R., & Wijnen, W. H. F. W. (2009). Constructivist, problem-based learning does work: A meta-analysis of curricular comparisons involving a single medical school. Educational Psychologist, 44, 227–249.
Schoenfeld, A., & Kilpatrick, J. (2013). A US perspective on the implementation of inquiry-based learning in mathematics. ZDM-International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45(6), 901–909.
Shein, P. P., & Chiou, W.-B. (2011). Teachers as role models for students’ learning styles. Social Behavior and Personality, 39(8), 1097–1104.
Tsai, T.-L. & Li, H.-C. (2017). International comparative studies in mathematics education: Are we obsessed with the international rankings of measured educational outcomes? International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 48(8), 1262–1267.
Webb, N. M. (2009). The teacher’s role in promoting collaborative dialogue in the classroom. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 79, 1–28.
Wijnia, L., Loyens, S. M. M., van Gog, T., Derous, E., & Schmidt, H. G. (2014). Is there a role for direct instruction in problem-based learning? Comparing student-constructed versus integrated model answers. Learning and Instruction, 34, 22–31.
Wirkala, C., & Kuhn, D. (2011). Problem-based learning in K–12 education: Is it effective and how does it achieve its effects? American Educational Research Journal, 48(5), 1157–1186.
Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research and applications (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.