UCI's Hewlett Foundation Grant

Incorporating Problem-Based Learning into the General Education Curriculum at UCI

University of California, Irvine

Many of the issues identified in the Carnegie Foundation's Boyer Commission Report (1998) correspond directly to both the context and the challenges to quality undergraduate education at the University of California, Irvine - a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, public research university and one of the nine campuses of the University of California system. As at other research univerisities, our tenure-track faculty are focused on their research; there are few incentives for revising and improving undergraduate courses. Few have had sustained exposure to new theories about teaching and learning and to new pedagogical techniques that might improve their teaching. In addition, efforts to improve general education courses are particularly problematic, given the size of the classes, the variance in student preparedness, and the kind of material that must be covered. To respond to this challenge, UCI's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), with the assistance of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and other sources, is implementing a new program to promote a significant shift in the teaching and learning that takes place in general education courses by assisting our tenure-track faculty to become effective developers and users of pedagogies broadly described as "problem-based learning" (PBL) strategies. Recent research in the neurosciences has demonstrated that the most powerful learning occurs when the student is actively engaged in real-world tasks that demand higher-order thinking skills and abilities, undertaken in concert with other people, such as those used in PBL. Yet this type of teaching and learning rarely occurs in general education courses. We feel that PBL is particularly appropriate for our faculty who themselves already participate in similar inquiry-based learning as they engage in their own research. To promote the use of PBL, our two-year project consists of a quarter-long Faculty PBL Institute, on-going technical and professional support from experts in the field of PBL, campuswide Teaching Colloquies on the topic of PBL, and faculty mini-grants and release time for implementation of PBL in general education courses. Each year, approximately 10-12 faculty will participate in the PBL Institute and make a commitment to implement PBL strategies in their general education courses the following academic year. Mid-term assessments and site visits conducted by DUE's Instructional Resources Center will provide faculty with valuable feedback on their PBL strategies. To assess the effectiveness of the inquiry-based learning strategies, data will be collected from both faculty and students. Changes in pedagogy will be assessed through pre and post surveys, focus groups, and on-site observations. Changes in student outcomes will be assessed through regular classroom performance (e.g., exams, letter grades), course evaluations and pre and post surveys. Wherever possible, faculty will be encouraged to compare PBL students to non-PBL students (e.g., in another section of the course or students taught previously). Additional evaluation activities will be conducted after the funding period to assess long-term impact on student learning. Dissemination activities will include a Web site and presentations of papers at regional and national conferences related to learning in higher education.