General PBL Implementation Strategy

The following information provides general implementation suggestions for any of our online Problem-Based Learning investigations.

Prepare the Learner

• Review cooperative learning strategies: jigsaw effect, behaviors, expectations, and action planning.
• Practice writing journal reflections after classroom experiments/lab activities.
• Review critical computer skills, including keyboarding, printing, and how to cut and paste text or images to the notepad/clipboard.
• Discuss the problem-solving process by creating a flowchart. Use the Problem-Based Learning resources provided within the web sites' Educators' Area.

Prepare the Classroom

• Take an inventory of students' strengths and weaknesses and determine how students will be grouped for the investigation.
• Check the technical requirements for viewing The NASA SCIence Files™.
• Visit the problem board inside the tree house to select the appropriate online investigation. Bookmark the first page of the investigation on each computer that will be used.
• Select an episode you are interested in implementing. Download the full or segmented version of the Educator's Guide related to that episode.
• Review the guide and select the instructional tools that fit your classroom needs.
• Make copies of materials and gather resources and materials needed for the lab experiments or hands-on activities.

Connect with the Problem

• Introduce the problem scenario and bring the problem to life by incorporating a meaningful motivational activity.
• Discuss the various roles and assist students as they select roles and responsibilities for the online investigation. Responsibilities may include these:

  Principal Investigator - Responsible for keeping all team members involved, relaying team questions to the teacher, and upholding the team action plan

  Statistician/Reporter - Records all observations and responses in the problem log and on charts or graphs agreed upon by the team, edits the key papers, and reports the final product to the audience

  Computer Technician - Central team member to navigate the site and download and print needed materials

  Materials Manager - Gathers and returns supplies for experiments and hands-on activities

Set Up the Structure (Key to the PBL Process)

• Create a brainstorm map to identify the basic resources available to use during the problem-solving process.
• Brainstorm for possible directions the investigation can take by using open-ended or leading questions (see PBL Questions).
• Draw from what students already know and record the information on the Problem Board.
• Establish the criteria for the online investigation.
• Establish further criteria where needed; for example: student-generated or teacher-generated criteria for the final products (see sample assessment tools).
• Distribute instructional tools (problem log, reflective journal, action plan, scientific investigation log, etc.) to be used during the investigation.

Visit the Problem (This stage is cyclical with the "Share Information Within the Group" stage.)

• Assist students in developing action plans.
• Assist students in completing their Problem Board as a team. Students should determine three important issues surrounding the problem and identify four questions they need to answer at this stage of the investigation.
• Aid students in generating numerous hypotheses.
• Assist students as they investigate the four questions generated and the three issues identified. Direct them to the Research Rack.
• Conduct hands-on activities provided in the educator's guide. Remember to encourage students to maintain the responsibilities they selected in the beginning of the investigation.
• Utilize the online simulations in the classroom or at the computer lab. Review the concepts learned as a whole group or with individual teams as needed.
• Encourage computer technicians to print out and use the Problem-Solving Tools within the online investigation.
• Direct students to view Expert Video Clips and Media Zone images and apply them to the final product as needed.

Share Information Within the Group (This stage is cyclical with the "Visit the Problem" stage.)

• Set up a time with each team's principal investigator to check the status of the team action plan and findings to date. Repeat this procedure a few times during the investigation.
• Meet with each team to learn about the team's findings. Reporter/recorder and statisticians should conduct the report. Emphasize to the teams that the proposed solutions must have ample support and fulfill the criteria identified in the introduction. Give redirection or suggestions as needed.
• Help students identify issues that came up during the investigation and generate new questions that will be used to lead or redirect the research.
• Act as a sounding board for students as they evaluate potential solutions based upon supporting evidence and the ability to fulfill the criteria.

Produce a Product

• Show good samples of various products as benchmarks for comparison.
• Brainstorm for possible final products as a class so that teams will have a selection from which to choose.
• Assist students in developing a product that fits the investigation's criteria.
• Encourage students to use the Expert Video Clips and/or Media Zone images and sounds in their final product.

Evaluate the Product

• Evaluate the final products and the students' team efforts by using the assessment tools found in the Educators Area.
• Collect students' Action Plans, Experiment Reflection Logs, Science Journals, Reflection Journals, and Problem Logs as additional means for assessment.
• Facilitate a discussion with each team to ask them what they learned (content) and which problem-solving strategies worked or didn't work.
• Help students set goals for their next problem-solving opportunity.