Problem-Based Learning

            There can be no argument that Olympus Junior High School offers its students an incredible middle level education experience.  Teacher accolades, student test scores and levels of satisfaction within our community can attest to that fact.  However, educators at our school have never been ones to rest on their laurels, and are constantly on the lookout for new ways to enhance their practice.  Throughout the 2006-2007 school year, the school’s faculty and staff have been seeking ways to better integrate their curriculum, and to have their students more systematically examine the world in which they live.  The search has paid off with the discovery and adoption of problem-based learning, or PBL.

            PBL is not new, as it has been in use in schools around the world since the early 20th century.  Over the last century PBL has evolved from the theories of John Dewey into intricately-designed programs of study that are beginning to gain a great deal of momentum in schools across the country.  At its core, PBL presents real world problems and issues to students and then asks them to research, analyze, form defensible opinions and then develop possible solutions to these problems.  The emergence of PBL is in response to more and more schools who are beginning to realize that they have a responsibility to teach subject matter above and beyond that which is found in the tests that we are required to administer.  Many private agencies, such as the Buck Institute for Education in California are leading the way nation-wide in developing methods and strategies that relate to PBL.  I am pleased to announce our partnership with the Buck Institute as we prepare to implement Problem-Based Learning at Olympus Junior High School beginning in the fall 2007. 

Essentially, PBL at Olympus Junior High School will work in the follow manner:  twice a year, each grade level will be focusing on a different national or global problem.  Possible examples include environmental problems, health dilemmas, economic issues, political concerns and so forth.  The problems will be ambiguous enough so that students will have room to develop their own position on the matter, thus taking into consideration the fact that family and personal perspectives on each problem may differ.  Teachers will not be looking for a specific right answer, but rather thorough and careful thinking by each student.  During each PBL unit, each class that a student may have, whether it’s a math class, an English class or a PE class, will be discussing the issue through the lens of that particular subject matter.  For instance, in a unit regarding pollution, a student may be attempting to quantify the effects of pollution in math class, they may be examining air quality in science class, they may be doing a photo expose of pollution in their photography class, they may be asked to write a persuasive essay in English class and then asked to examine the effects air pollution on the our physical health in P.E. class.  The possibilities would only be limited by our faculty’s imagination and creativity, and I can tell you, they have an abundance of both.

I’m excited to see PBL in action within our classes.  I encourage our parents to keep an eye open for PBL announcements and what problems our students will be addressing.  I also encourage our parents to be an active part in their student’s understanding of the topics they are presented.  The active and supportive nature of our parent community will be a crucial component of the success of our PBL program.