PBCL in an Architecture Design Class

Resource for Grades 11-12

PBCL in an Architecture Design Class

Media Type:
Video

Running Time: 0m 56s
Size: 3.4 MB

or


Source: Making Learning Real: "Jack Wallace's Classroom"


Resource Produced by:

WGBH Educational Foundation

Collection Developed by:

WGBH Educational Foundation

Collection Credits

Collection Funded by:

National Science Foundation

In this video from Making Learning Real, an architectural design class uses the Problem-Based Case Learning (PBCL) approach. Students have been asked to design a wellness center for their college. The college’s building committee is the business partner. In response to feedback from the building committee—all the student designs were rejected—students are taking stock of their approaches and revising their plans. As part of this work, they use a PBCL tool, the Need to Know Board, to identify what they know and what they need to learn.

open Background Essay

With PBCL, students work to solve a real-world problem from a business partner. The instructor sets the context for the problem and facilitates the learning process. The real-world problem becomes the heart of the curriculum, as the class works through a problem-solving cycle that includes stages for framing the problem, developing and testing responses, revising and refining based on feedback, and, ultimately, presenting solutions to the business partner.

In the workplace, proposed solutions to a problem may not succeed. Through PBCL, students can discover how to respond to critiques, learn from unsuccessful paths, and build better solutions. PBCL provides a framework for revising and refining ideas based on feedback. Students analyze the shortcomings of their approaches, and work to create improved solutions.

In this video, the students work through the “Test Points” stage of the PBCL Cycle. At this stage, students refine and present solutions to fellow students and the instructor. The Need to Know Board (NTKB) is a practical tool for this stage, as it helps students identify what they already know, and what information is required to move forward.


open Discussion Questions

  • The class in this video is a capstone course in architecture design at a two-year college. The PBCL approach has been applied to various subjects and grade levels. How do you think the particular discipline taught in this example affects the PBCL approach? How could PBCL relate to the subjects and grade levels you teach?
  • If you engaged your students in a PBCL effort, do you think they might face an obstacle similar to the one in this video? What other sorts of challenges might your class face when working with a business partner?
  • The PBCL Cycle promotes iterative approaches—solutions and revisions can happen as many times as is appropriate to the problem and the course. As in a real-world setting, this iteration of developing new ideas and testing them in the classroom can play out in unforeseen ways. How might you facilitate this kind of learning in your class? How can you help your students understand productive vs. unproductive iteration?

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