This document summarizes the findings of a study that explored students' experiences with an online problem-based learning (PBL) trial. Key findings included that students missed the social element of in-person learning and felt a lack of communication inhibited community-building. Participants and facilitators noted that facilitation was the biggest issue, with facilitators needing more training and a more structured approach. The role of the facilitator in online PBL is important to provide support and guidance to students, particularly novice PBL learners, through both synchronous and asynchronous communication. Main recommendations included online training for facilitators, ongoing support, and using a structured PBL model and process.

1. “I wanted to connect”
lessons learnt from an open online PBL trial
within Academic Development 2010/11
Chrissi Nerantzi
Academic Developer
University of Salford
Something to think about
What would I need the most during online learning?
What would I miss the most during online learning?

2. ‘Relatively little research has explored students’
experience of facilitation’ (Savin-Baden 2003, 56)

3. locations

4. • complete PBL task
• Create online space
• Find participants (AD, PgCert
participants) – SEDA
• Find critical friend
• (AD) familiarise with
technology and PBL
• (AD) work on PBL scenario,
assessment criteria, peer
feedback template
timeline

5. team
member
teacher
chairscribe
thinker
learner
stage 1: explore
the problem
stage 1: explore
the problem
stage 2: discover
known and
unknown, plan
stage 2: discover
known and
unknown, plan
stage 3 : research
and share
stage 3 : research
and share
stage 4: applystage 4: apply
stage 5: presentstage 5: present
5-stage model (Mills, 2006)

6. Web2.0 toolkit

7. blog

8. Project 2010-2011

11. method
and data collection and analysis

12. … there are limited ways in which individuals experience the same
phenomenon
(Marton, 1981)
phenomenography
Capturing participants’ variation of experience
Data collection
• individual remote interviews
• surveys (initial and final)
• reflective accounts

13. Remember?
You were asked at the beginning
What would I need the most during online learning?
What would I miss the most during online learning?

14. I never, ever, ever
have been involved
in anything fully
online either as a
learner or as a tutor
or any other thing.
I wanted to connect
I would have liked to
come away feeling it was
more of a community
being created.
In my group, there was really
lack of communication and I
am as guilty of it as anybody
else.
I was quite excited about
this and very keen to be a
part of it. The possibility of
how online collaboration
might work.
I didn’t feel the facilitators
particularly engaged with
the participants which was
a big drawback to this
process.
I felt like virtually
walking in the darkness,
going to a wrong
direction, hitting a wall
that suddenly coming
up and when I need
help, no one responded
right away.
There was a lack of real human
contact eye-to-eye, smile, feeling the
other’s real presence.
findings

15. Time
Busy
Study
Timing
Technology
Choice
Number
Use
Communication
Asynchronous
Synchronous
No communication
People
Working with colleagues
from other institutions
Multi-disciplinary groups
Socialising and community
Group size
Rules
PBL task
Scenario
Assessment and
feedback
Online PBL
Yes, to online PBL
Yes, to blended
PBL
No to PBL
PBL in PgCerts
Facilitators say
definitely yes
Some participants are
sceptic
Reflecting
Purpose and
structure
Engagement
Time
Privacy
Facilitation
Clarity of role
Engagement and support
Structure and scaffolding
Preparation

16. we synchronous communication

17. • learning in multi-
disciplinary teams
• learning with colleagues
from different HE
institutions
• the opportunity to
participate and learnt a lot
from the trial and the
issues experienced
we also

18. • Time available and extent of task
• Technology was frustrating for some
• Working 100% online problematic
• Asynchronous communication slowed
things down
• The social element was missing, no
community feel
• Facilitation! This was the biggest issue of
all and recognised by participants and
the facilitators themselves
main issues

19. The role of the facilitator

20. “Facilitators new to problem-based learning often feel
that it is better to say less – or even nothing – so that
the students feel that they are taking the lead in the
learning.”
(Savin-Baden 2003, 50)
“[...] students new to problem-based learning, [...]
(feel) that the lack of direction is duplicitous because
they feel it is the facilitator’s way of avoiding a
declaration of their own agenda and concerns.
(Savin-Baden, 2003, p. 50)
Could we
remove/r
eplace
PBL here?

21. coaching: push>pull
less experienced PBL
students
need push
(directive)
facilitation approach
experienced PBL
students
need pull
(non-
directive)
facilitation approach
(Neville, 1999; Savin-Baden 2006)

22. Clarity of role
“I personally think I would have found at
least clarification what the facilitator
would do, and again, I might have missed
it and it may be my lack of experience,
but then again any student who is
coming for the first time to do PBL, will
have that lack of experience. If I had been
told, that the facilitator is there basically
to mop up any really serious issues,
somebody who is really ill, completely
unable to participate before the
facilitator steps in, fair enough, I am not
going to have kind of support and then I
would have to step up to the plate and be
a leader.”
“. .. not being sure
myself where things
were, what we were
doing...”

23. Lack of support
“I felt a bit like, I was not knowing which
direction I was taking and a bit sort of in a
doubtful sort of perspective, whether I’m
actually reading the right material,
whether I’m going to the right things,
whether I’m following all the right stuff
that I’m needing. yeah a little bit in the
dark. [...] I feel there was a bit of, not too
much facilitation going on. [...] I would
have encouraged people to, to read the
scenario together. Because I think that the
initial, do the scenario, read the scenario
together and then once you read it, maybe
for a very brief time, read it together and,
so say “ok, go and think about this, and
maybe pay attention to these points a
little bit more and maybe come back and
we’ll discuss a bit more and then”.
Something along those lines”
“I was probably not
confident as I would
normally do in the sense
of directing people and
helping people,
facilitating as I would
normally be.”

24. More structure
“Potentially creating
more of a structure,
where it would be
expected to interact on a
more regular basis”
“I really should have had
perhaps more structure in
arranging meetings with
the group…”

25. Better preparation
“PBL depends on very
thorough planning”
“I think because it is
an online trial, I didn’t
realise how I wasn’t
prepared, if you see
what I mean. Had I
known, perhaps I
would have had more
preparation [...] had I
done sort of more
research myself it
would have helped.”

26. I participated in a couple of
online programmes. Speaking
personally, I hated it!
There is no scope for discussion.
I spent my days sitting in front
of the computer.
Communicating via email,
offering feedback to students,
writing things.
... learning needs to be quicker
being able to communicate
directly with students, it is part
of a social process, it shouldn’t
be sitting in front of a computer
again...
I can learn from it, do I enjoy it?
No!

27. • Communication, communication,
communication!
• More hands-on approach required initially!
• Task setting and timelines
• Use the structured PBL model and PBL tutorial
process
• Use available technologies for (a)synchronous
collaboration
• Lay the foundations of a learning community
PBL facilitators engagement

28. Facilitation modes (Heron,1989, 1993) Student perspective
TESEP 3E (Smyth,2007)
Hierarchical (directive) Enhance
Co-operative (partnership) Extend
Letting go (autonomous) Empower
Progressive online PBL framework

29. a suggestion: facilitation for 3c

34. Suggestions made by participants
and facilitators:
• Facilitators to receive training in advance
• More structured and supportive approach to
facilitation
• Arranging regular synchronous meetings
• Participants and facilitators to get to know
each other and create the foundations of a
learning community from the very beginning.

35. Main recommendations
online training for PBL facilitators
Ongoing support
Orientation tour
Facilitation for 3c
Use PBL structure and process

36. The role of the facilitator...
“... seems to be extremely important in an online learning activity.”
(Chernobilsky et. al p. 61)
“The general goal of the facilitator is to help students construct causal
explanations that connect theories, data and proposed solutions.” (Hmelo-
Silver, 2002, p.10)
“is guiding students on the learning process, pushing them to think deeply and
modelling the kinds of questions that students need to be asking themselves.”
(Hmelo-Silver, 2002, p. 1)
“It might be that PBLonline requires more of a silent presence by the facilitator,
along with appropriate hinting and prompting, rather than some of the
direction and intervention that seems to be evident in much e-moderating”
(Savin-Baden, 2006, p. 11)
“Students doing PBLonline seem to need less facilitator support and guidance
as they become more familiar and skilled with managing the learning
approach.” (Savin-Baden, 2006, p. 11)

37. The role of the facilitator...
“Facilitators new to problem-based learning often feel that it is better to say
less – or even nothing – so that the students feel that they are taking the lead
in the learning. (Savin-Baden 2003, 50)
[...] particularly with students new to problem-based learning, results in
students feeling that the lack of direction is duplicitous because they feel it is
the facilitator’s way of avoiding a declaration of their own agenda and
concerns. (Savin-Baden 2003, 50)
Neville (1999): novice students with little experience of such learning (PBL)
would probably benefit from directive tutors who where knowledge experts.
Neville (1999): More experienced PBL students require less direction and
become increasingly self-sufficient.
Also
applicable
more
generally?

38. existing research limited
“Relatively little research has explored students’ experience of facilitation”
(Savin-Baden, 2003, p. 56)

39. references
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