Learning about Learning: A Focus on Problem-Based Learning in Distance Education

The objectives of the research were:

(i)  to engage academic staff members of the Open University of  Hong Kong in a series of collaborative, cross-discipline action research projects, and 
(ii)  to contribute significant information about problem-based learning in distance education in Hong Kong at a time when this approach to learning is becoming increasingly important

Monthly lunch meetings were held throughout the project. There were fourteen regular participants who are Course Co-ordinators in discipline areas including business management, accounting, English, Chinese, marketing, mathematics, nursing and health. Participants engaged in workshops, presentations and discussions about issues relating to PBL in general, and more specifically in distance education and in their particular courses. In addition to internal training within OUHK, participants were encouraged to participate in PBL workshops organized by other tertiary institutions, particularly the series run by the UGC PBL team based at the University of Hong Kong. Exchange of views on PBL were enhanced by the fact that groups of project participants attended these external workshops together.

Five small-scale action research investigations were conducted by staff working either individually or collaboratively to investigate issues of common concern.  These involved 10 of the 14 participants. Because of the scheduling of the courses in which they wanted to focus their research, two more participants were unable to carry out their own projects during the first year, but have developed proposals for the second year based on their reflections during the workshops and questions raised in their own research.  Bridget Swearse developed and implemented a series of situation-based TMA questions for Nursing students and monitored the key learning issues that have arisen from these.  Mabel Lam used problem-based TMAs in B406 Auditing and interviewed students and tutors about their perceptions of the learning that occurred and the students' perceptions of themselves as independent learners.  May Chan and Irene Siaw combined to conduct a series of problem-based statistics tutorials and monitored the students' acceptance of the approach. A similar project was conducted with a Chinese Language course by Peggy Kwok, Susannah Chu, Annie Lee and Angela Leung. 

The most common patterns resulting from the 1st cycle projects are summarised below.

The Students
The majority of the students were positive about the knowledge and skills they developed from the problem-solving activities but adamant that it should be a component of their courses, rather than the only approach. There were some patterns in the aspects of their PBL experiences that the students responded to positively:

• opportunities for discussion and sharing of ideas with peers,
• achievement of success in solving problems that are challenging but within the students' reach,
• reflection on new knowledge and skills that have developed during the problem solving, so they are aware that learning is taking place,
• recognition that the tasks are relevant to their current or future 'real world' needs,
• feedback and support from the facilitators to deal with their feelings of frustration and confusion when the problem-solving process became difficult. 

• students' dependence on the tutor, particularly in the early stages of the PBL projects, 
• students' concern with the quantity more than with the quality of what they were learning and fear that they would learn less through PBL,
• students' concern that with PBL they might get 'off track' and 'waste time'.

Participants generally regard PBL as a valuable educational strategy because it can equip students with critical thinking, creativity and the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to face problems, 

It is important to give support as they go through early stages of confusion and uncertainty about implementing PBL.  Some participants admitted that they did not enjoy the workshops at first. In spite of their enthusiasm that the approach would be valuable for their students, they were unclear about the concept and nature of PBL. Some even expressed initial frustration, because they expected that the facilitator would give them answers in the workshop, instead of asking them to find their own answers through discussion and reading. However, as they began to find the answers that they needed in the discussions, they became more motivated in the workshops and were more willing to try out PBL in their courses. 

It is necessary to address and discuss strategies for overcoming potential obstacles to introducing PBL in distance education: 

changing course materials is a complex process that requires the consensus of the whole course team and the external course assessor,

there are only four or five tutorials per course per semester and it is optional for students to attend these tutorials - need to create a balance so the adoption of a PBL approach will still allow time to cover the main objectives of the tutorials, namely to help students with their assignments and revision,

it is necessary to address potential resistance from students to PBL, particularly those who are typically passive learners who frequently express a need to be organised by others.

A culture of collegial cross-discipline discussion and mutual support, as established in this project, is highly desirable.

As can be seen from this brief summary, there were two main areas of concern for the project participants.  About half of them had no previous knowledge about PBL, so a large part of the year has been taken up with their coming to terms with what it is, how it can be implemented, and the strategies that need to be applied if it is to be used successfully.  The other major concern was whether OUHK students would accept this kind of approach when they are typically accustomed to instructor-centred learning.  It was necessary and important that these issues be investigated before further attempts to implement PBL could be made.  With generally positive responses from the students who experienced PBL in various ways, the participants now feel more confident to explore further how it can be used.  

Because the OUHK situation is unique in that the geographical distance separating students from the university is small, distance education at OUHK is a combination of 'distance' and face-to-face delivery, it is necessary to explore the role of PBL within this interface. In the first cycle, in most cases, the initial explorations involved presenting PBL in face-to-face mode.  Thus three of the projects were centered around tutorials.  At this stage there has not been very much attention paid to the actual distance learning environment and ways in which PBL can be incorporated into this.  Overall, the participants have expressed the belief that the first cycle has been a successful experiment.  The original objectives have been achieved.  Now that the first-level questions have been answered with some degree of satisfaction, a core group of six staff members  has developed a proposal for the second cycle of investigations to explore the questions that have arisen.

In the second cycle, particular attention will be paid to the ways in which the distance learning environment can enhance and/or inhibit the successful incorporation of PBL.  Issues currently under investigation in the second cycle include:

the utilisation of on-line discussions to create PBL environments, and the nature and role of  peer support and interaction in these environments,

the potential role of PBL in tutorials designed to help students complete assignments,

the role of the tutor in the PBL environment,

students' metacognition of PBL processes,

analysis of existing course materials to investigate opportunities for incorporating PBL.

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