PBL Faculty Institute - Social Sciences 10C Survey Results

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

HEWLETT PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING INITIATIVE
PBL COURSE SURVEY FALL 2000
ENGINEERING 54

Craig G. Longuevan
Research, Evaluation, and Grants
Division of Undergraduate Education

15 December 2000

HEWLETT PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING INITIATIVE
PBL COURSE SURVEY
ENGINEERING 54

Introduction

A participant in the Hewlett Problem-Based Learning Faculty Institute during winter of 2000, Professor J. Earthman redesigned a lower-division engineering course. The course (Engineering 54: Principles of Material Science and Engineering) is open to all undergraduates and introduces students to the structure and properties of materials. Professor Earthman taught the redesigned course in fall quarter, 2000.

During the sixth week of instruction, students in the class were asked to contribute to the evaluation of the Hewlett PBL initiative by completing a standardized pre- and post-survey (the Problem Solving Inventory) and a PBL course survey. The Problem Solving Inventory was administered during the sixth and tenth weeks of the term. The PBL course survey was administered during the tenth week; 36 students completed it. This report analyzes students' responses to the PBL course survey.

Findings

For survey items 1-4 students indicated agreement or disagreement on a scale from 1 (agree strongly) to 6 (disagree strongly).

Ninety-two per cent (92%) of responses (33 of 36) for item 1 indicated agreement that the PBL projects in the course encouraged students to integrate concepts and skills from different disciplines.

Sixty-nine per cent (69%) of responses (24 of 35) to item 2 agreed that the course's problem-based learning projects helped students improve their oral communication skills. Six (6) students (17% of respondents) disagreed slightly and 5 students (14%) disagreed moderately.

Responses to item 3 showed students' perceptions of the usefulness of peer and group interactions in completing the PBL assignments. Seventy-five per cent (75%) of respondents (27 of 36) agreed that these dynamics helped. Seven (7) students disagreed slightly and 2 disagreed moderately.

Seventy-four per cent (74%) of responses (24 of 35) to item 4 agreed that the course's PBL projects enabled them to develop a deeper understanding of materials science. Eight (8) students disagreed slightly and 1 student disagreed moderately.

Items 5-8 asked students to evaluate their experience in, and evaluation of, the PBL projects. Response to these items was high: 21-23 written comments per item (58-63% of 36 students surveyed).

Item 5 asked students to compare their experience in the PBL projects to their experience in the course before the project. Fifteen (15) of 23 respondents (65%) indicated that students found PBL an effective means of learning the material. Typically these responses emphasized the "realistic", "hands-on", and/or "big picture" qualities PBL provided. Three respondents indicated that students perceived no difference in their experience of the course. Three respondents focussed on problems encountered in working in groups. One student thought the PBL portion slowed down the learning process. One stated that the respondent didn't like the PBL portion.

Nineteen (19) of the 22 responses (86%) to item 6 stressed the various benefits students found by working through the PBL projects. These comments usually emphasized teamwork skills and becoming a more resourceful learner.

Item 7 invited students to suggest improvements to the course's PBL projects. The 21 responses were quite varied. Six (6) requested more time for the projects. Six (6) wanted to change how the groups worked. Five (5) suggested different structures or directions for the projects. Two wanted "more PBL". Two couldn't think of any improvements to make.

Item 8 asked students if similar PBL projects should be part of other courses they would be taking. Nineteen (19) of 23 responses (83%) were positive. Positive comments typically mentioned that PBL improved students' learning process, communication skills, and ability to solve real-world problems. Four responses were negative. All of the negative comments indicated time constraints as the factor in not recommending PBL projects for other courses.

Students' responses to items 5-8 were generally consistent with the responses to items 1-4. However, written comments for items 5-8 tended to be more positive than the ratings given items 1-4. Written comments also tended to be quite specific and somewhat fuller than usual in similar surveys. Moreover, the very high rate of written comments (averaging 60% of all respondents) is unusual.

On balance, therefore, students in Engineering 54 demonstrated a positive perception of how PBL functioned within the course and of the benefits they enjoyed from this exposure to PBL. Furthermore, students indicated that they would like to see PBL integrated into other courses they would be taking.

HEWLETT PBL INITIATIVE
Course Survey Results
Engineering 54, Fall 2000

1. The problem-based learning project in this course encouraged me to integrate concepts and skills from different disciplines.

1 Agree strongly	2 Agree moderately	3 Agree slightly	4 Disagree slightly	5 Disagree moderately	6 Disagree strongly	Total responses	Average rating
7	14	12	2	1	0	36	2.33

2. The problem-based learning project in this course helped me to improve my oral communication skills.

1 Agree strongly	2 Agree moderately	3 Agree slightly	4 Disagree slightly	5 Disagree moderately	6 Disagree strongly	Total responses	Average rating
3	6	15	6	5	0	35	3.11

3. The problem-based learning project in this course provided peer and group interactions useful to me in completing the assignment.

1 Agree strongly	2 Agree moderately	3 Agree slightly	4 Disagree slightly	5 Disagree moderately	6 Disagree strongly	Total responses	Average rating
6	11	10	7	2	0	36	2.67

4. The problem-based learning project in this course enabled me to develop a deeper understanding of materials science.

1 Agree strongly	2 Agree moderately	3 Agree slightly	4 Disagree slightly	5 Disagree moderately	6 Disagree strongly	Total responses	Average rating
7	10	9	8	1	0	35	2.37

5. How would you compare your experience in the problem-based learning project with your experience in the course before the project?

PBL helps to make a more complete project and more understanding.
More insight with PBL.
Problem-based learning seemed to be more realistic and it was actually funner. This is the way we are going to work in the future so it was a good experience.
Problem-based learning is an effective way of learning.
With the projects you take a look at outside effects that would not be mentioned in class.
Very useful.
You have more hands-on experience.
The PBL helps because it forces you to figure out what is going on.
It was a good experience, got you thinking.
Makes learning a lot more fun and hands-on.
Good.
Very good.
Before it would be just lecture and read the book. The project, though, makes it interesting so we remember the course material.
Much easier environment to learn but sometimes you aren't given an opportunity to learn as much.
B+
Don't like it too much.
Same.
Not much different.
Not much was different.
It was annoying to work with people who don't work and thus do most of the work yourself-something I could have done on my own.
I fell the PBL portion slowed down the learning process.
The project wasn't held right. In our group we each did 11/4 pages and literally cut and pasted all parts together. I don't think it helped at all.
The project taught me that not everyone can cooperate as a team working together to solve a problem. Being a female engineer in a male-dominated class is harder than it sounds.

6. How did you benefit by participating in this course's problem-based learning project?

Promoted thinking. It wasn't something you could find in a textbook.
It required me to be a more independent and resourceful learner (i.e., research and time management).
Helped me take my own learning initiative.
I learned or enhanced my abilities to do research and got familiar with the sources to the research on campus.
The hands-on projects made learning the materials more interesting.
More hands-on problem solving (rather than traditional lecture notes).
Gaining insights from group members made it easier to understand the problem.
Understand more about this course.
Get to know my classmates more.
Helped me work effectively in a group and helps one understand better what the problem is.
Team-work.
Team-work; interaction; sharing and learning.
Team-work.
Learning how to deal and work with people.
Interaction with peers.
Learning from others' knowledge, information, and ideas.
Collaborate with others, develop rapport.
Learned to work in a group.
I didn't.
None.
Not much, really.
No benefits that could not have been gleaned on an individual project.

7. How would you improve the problem-based learning project for this course?

Include leadership skills.
The Titanic project is a very good idea. But one thing to change could be to have every student look into the material side of the failure before splitting into groups so that one person isn't left to do it and everyone learns.
Make the groups smaller, maybe 3 people instead of 5.
Have each group do a different project.
Make it more interactive. Maybe make each group get together with the teacher or TA outside of class to discuss the focus of attack.
Don't do it in groups.
Give more time.
Add a lab rather than using class time.
Homework was a little hard to do because we had to make time for projects; couldn't lecture as much.
More time.
More time in class.
Give more time to do it.
Do more problem-based learning. The class was essentially standard.
More.
Giving two or more different projects.
If the project had a more structured goal, it would allow students to have a clearer idea of what the problem actually is.
Try to do it without predicting the answer..
Make the projects a little more precise.
Incorporate more fundamental material.
None.
I don't know.

8. Do you think similar problem-based learning projects should be part of other courses you will be taking? Why or why not?

Yes. This will develop our personal skills, enabling students to succeed in their projects. Especially for engineers: we do not have much opportunity to discuss ideas in class.
Yes. It would aid understanding, develops good skills for "real world", takes away from class-by-exam environment prevalent in most classes.
Yes. It makes you learn how to explain, write, and talk about the material learned and to meet people as well.
Yes. Very useful tool in learning.
Yes, hands-on learning is best.
Yes, make a real world application, rather than just staring at a textbook.
Yes. It's a nice change from studying out of a textbook.
Yes. It encourages working in groups.
Yes, because we can apply what we have learned on other courses that we have taken.
I think more problem-based learning should be part of other courses because it helps you better understand the materials as well as build communication skills.
I believe a more structured problem will enable students to solve more difficult problems and thus make PBL a useful experience.
Yes, they are in most cases with a final group project.
Yes, helped me take learning initiative.
Yes, it gives a bigger overview of real life situations.
Yes, because it will be an interesting way to learn.
Yes. It forces people to think about what they're learning.
Yes, because I said so.
Perhaps if it isn't done in groups.
Some, when beneficial.
I think I would have gotten more out of mastering materials. I still don't feel I come close to fully understanding this course. There should be a separate course for PBL projects.
No, it takes too much time.
No, because too much time to finish project.
No, time constraint and lack of participants.