Review of Problem Based Learning Sources

Student Retention and Effective Strategies for Promoting Personal Success

Annotated Bibliography

Foundations of Problem-Based Learning (Savin-Baden & Major, 2004)

This book represents one of the first attempts to compile a comprehensive text that introduces problem-based learning. Problem-based learning can be thought of as a pedagogy that is focused on providing students open-ended problems to solve. This methodology first appeared in medical schools and has since been applied to many disciplines and the academic process in general. This approach became popular in the 1960s and has increased in popularity since that time.

The approach is considered an active learning style in which students tackle problems in which they lead their own educational efforts. The instructor is considered more of a guide or a facilitator than someone who teaches in a more authoritarian position. The format is more project based and represents a shift from the more traditional lecture-based environment.

Transformational Change in Higher Education: Positioning Colleges and Universities for Future Success (d'Ambrosio & Ehrenberg, 2007)

The landscape of higher education has gone through major evolutions in the previous generations. There have been new challenges and demands that have been placed educational institutions as well as challenges to the system in regard to the growing complexities of new technologies that have become the subject of knowledge transfer. In regard to institutional challenges, universities have been victims of their own success in a sense. For example, by expanding access to higher education, universities now have to produce instruction on much larger scales with growing student bodies. This book outlines how many of the specific challenges have developed in this realm as well as recommends some solutions to try to overcome the challenges that will face educational systems in future generations.

Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses (Fink, 2013)

This is another book that is deeply rooted in the concept of problem-based learning. However, this book takes a more pragmatic approach to providing insights into how educators might apply these principles in practice, rather than focusing more on the theoretical underpinnings. This book provides many specific examples of such strategies and even provides countless illustrations to further drive home examples; as such this book can be considered significantly more practical than others in regard to the actual implementation of problem-based learning.

A Practical Guide to Problem-Based Online Learning (Savin-Baden, A Practical Guide to Problem-Based Online Learning, 2008)