Educators Management Liability: Exploring Learning Methods – Part 1

Teachers and educators nationwide are realizing that not all students respond to the same type of learning in the same ways. School officials need to accomplish many tasks when it comes to teaching children; they need to encourage critical thinking, communication and socialization, all while reinforcing key lessons and concepts. There is probably not a single model that will work for every student or classroom, but some are considered to be pretty close.

In the first part of this 2-part blog, we’ll be exploring one learning method that many educators feel is the most successful way to teach. This method is problem-based learning, which is an instructional strategy in which students work cooperatively to investigate and resolve a problem based on real-world issues or situations. The steps involved in this learning method include:

• Determining what the problem is
• Creating a specific statement of the problem
• Identifying the information needed
• Identifying the resources to be used to find that information
• Developing a possible solution
• Analyzing and refining the solution
• Presenting the final solution, orally and/or in writing

Problem-based learning has obvious benefits in the high school and college level, since this is a time where students should be learning how to be self-sufficient once they are an adult and on their own. However, many educators feel it can be beneficial even before then, saying that for students this type of learning is:

• Student-centered
• More enjoyable and satisfying than traditional learning
• Easier to comprehend

For instructors and educational institutions, problem-based learning has these perceived benefits:

• Class attendance increases
• The method affords more intrinsic reward
• It encourages students to spend more time studying and be more self-disciplined
• It makes student learning a priority and may aid student retention

With all this in mind, there are some educators who fear there could be risks or barriers involved with problem-based learning. This could include less content knowledge being learned, or instructors not knowing how or what to assess. Also, for some educational facilities, there may be a lack of resources. It’s important to explore learning methods though and find out what will work best for your students and schools. In part 2 of this blog we’ll be discussing another learning method, called project-based learning.

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