Problem Based Learning experiences with Genetics and Society

Lynette McLean, BSc (Hons), Dip Ed (UNE), Teach Cert (Dept Ed, NSW), Grad Cert Higher Ed (UNE), School of Rural Science and Natural Resources, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2351

Abstract

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been used as a teaching strategy for several years in such fields as medicine, engineering and architecture. At UNE this has been implemented in a science-oriented unit Genetics and Society presented to students majoring in Psychology or Sociology with a minor in Human BioScience. The author has used this approach to present a holistic view of genetics and its impact on individuals and society. It revolves around case studies that encourage the students to work in teams to investigate a series of situations. These cover various genetic concepts integrated with other biological, psychological and sociological aspects related to the situation. The use of PBL with internal and distance education (external) students will be discussed. The change of the mode of presentation of the knowledge aspects of the unit required changes to the entire unit package including movement away from the traditional assessment portfolio. This has led to students taking away from their studies a broader understanding of genetics and the recognition of a growing list of life-long learning skills.

Scenario

It is Sunday morning, 15th October, around 10 am. Jo, Marieta and Paul are having breakfast in college and are starting to think about what they have to do on Wednesday. They are getting close to their first year final exams but have to decide on Wednesday about what they want to do next year. All three have become friends through their work in Human BioScience and Psychology. Jo and Marieta are planning on majoring in Psych while Paul likes the idea of more Archeology units. They all want to keep some Human BioScience units to complement their other majors. What do they do?

We have all been through this situation, many times not just at uni but also when we are faced with deciding on applying for a job, planning a holiday, buying Christmas presents etc. How do we come to a decision? Let's go back to Jo, Marieta and Paul. They go and ask a tutor for a copy of the uni handbook. Then they make a list of what units are offered in 2nd year along with the relevant prerequisites and corequisites. The final list has more units in it than they can take. So what now? To the unit description area and so on.

Even though Jo and her friends may not realise it they have just put into practise a problem based exercise. We'll come back to this later.

In many professional courses (eg medicine, dentistry, engineering) an integrated approach to learning has been developed in response to a major concern of educators. This is to develop in the young professionals an ability to think, adapt to challenge, utilise a growing knowledge base and to be able to communicate effectively with their patients, clients and peers (Aldred et al, 1997; Harvey et al, 1997; Perkins, 1993; Herreid, 1998). To do this effectively, a need exists to move away from teacher-centred lectures to the posing of real-life problems that involve the students developing a working solution to them. Problem-based learning (PBL) presents such situations to the students, expects them, in a group situation, to identify the problem, build the knowledge base they require as background to effectively work through the problem, search for this information and then present a working solution to the problem. The difference with this approach compared to the traditional teacher-based approach is that the learning is problem-driven compared to subject-driven. The traditional approach compartmentalises learning, while the use of PBL demands that the students integrate information from a variety of sources.

There appears to be no agreement in the literature about a set method of applying a PBL approach in practice (Aldred et al 1997; Little, 1998). It appears that every school that has applied this approach has adapted it to meet their own demands. This is as it should be. Any learning strategy is a tool and therefore needs to be flexible in its utilisation. However, there is a clearly defined list of characteristics that have been established about PBL. The summary following was constructed from several sources - in particular Little (1998), Torp and Sage (1998) and Glasgow (1996).

Characteristics of the Problem-based learning strategy:

• The problem presented needs to be context-based and use 'real-life' situations; often described as 'ill-structured and messy' by Torp and Sage.
• The focus needs to be on explicit thinking skills - problem solving, analysis, decision making, critical thinking - not content;
• Requires the integration of intra- and/or inter-disciplinary knowledge, skills and behaviours in a real world practice - an holistic problem;
• It does not need to have only one solution which can be obtained through various means:
• Is self-directed and develops life-long learning skills;
• Is shared in small groups;
• Is seen to be 'owned' by the students;
• Provides a friendlier and more inviting educational climate to facilitate positive attitudes and motivation;
• Works well with all students.

Problem-based learning is being used in a complete degree course such as medicine (for example as in Newcastle, Australia and McMaster, Canada) or in later years of study in one or more subjects (for example in various Architecture units at University of Queensland, Australia and the unit Women at Work, UNE, Australia). This is to reflect real-life practice after the groundwork of knowledge has been established. In those universities adopting full degree PBL across all the traditional subject areas there is a call on all lecturers in these fields to work together to design the problems and to act as tutors and resources.

The unit Genetics and Society

Back to Jo, Marieta and Paul. One of the units they can include in their degree program from the Human BioScience stream is Genetics and Society. This stream is for students in the Faculty of Arts, generally majoring in Psychology or Sociology. All students have a background in basic human anatomy, physiology, genetics, nutrition and environmental influences on physiology.

The main aim of this unit is to expand students' knowledge base of the concepts of genetics and relate these to human society. The genetic information held by an individual is expressed as a result of the interaction with the environment in which that person resides and is expressed through various biochemical, physiological and psychological means. Therefore, it is imperative that a study of genetics is not seen in isolation but as part of an integrated study of the person and the society in which they live.

Over the last twelve years, class numbers have ranged from 10 to 34, with a fairly consistent group of 4 - 8 internal students. The inclusion of guest lecturers to cover discussions of genetic counselling, DNA fingerprinting, Genetic Biotechnology and Genetically Modified Organisms along with other current controversial topics have required the internal students to come to the Residential School in September along with the external students. This has led to a wider discussion base and seen as a benefit by all students.

What was the previous teaching approach?

The original designer and lecturer for this unit based it around

• traditional lectures, tutorials, practicals and problem solving sessions to internals
• written lecture notes sent to externals
• the residential school to which all students are required to attend
• assessment by two problem-style assignments (10% each), an essay (10%) and end-of-semester exam (70%)

What did I perceive to be a problem with this style?

The main problem I saw when I took over this unit was the sense of compartmentalisation and the need to fight to draw the information together relating genetics to the societal impact and aspects at the end of the unit. This was often made harder by the fact that external students had not read all of the lectures before they attended the residential school in September (say they were about 2/3rds of the way through). This meant discussions on these aspects were hard to develop. It was often, therefore, up to the external students to individually draw the concepts together to obtain the integrated picture of the role of genetics in society. What information we have in our genes, how traits are inherited and how they are expressed, needs to be discussed in line with the impact of this to ourselves, our family and the society in which we live. In other words, an holistic approach to the study needs to proceed from the start.

The traditional teacher-centred approach to curriculum design in universities magnifies the problem of compartmentalisation of information. We feel comfortable talking - and hence lecturing - about the subject we are studying ourselves. Our specific research for many years has often narrowed our perception and not allowed us to keep abreast of research in the allied field of education. As lecturers, our commitment to university and our students is not just to 'do research' but to teach. How can we say we are good teachers if we do not keep abreast of the latest in educational research?

At UNE, we have a set of Attributes of a UNE Graduate that we are expected to contribute to developing in our students over the years they are with us. After examining them I realised that some lecturers, of science units in particular, would have difficulty in fulfilling this. How in utilising a passive lecture-based presentation, although coupled with a practical component, could we help our students demonstrate a global perspective of our subject? When do we discuss - not tell them - ethical questions related to our subject? How can they see that what they learn in our subject is linked to material from others? When they leave university will they have to work entirely on their own again? Have we allowed them to develop the group skills they will need to succeed in the work force and society? These are definitely attributes that employers are looking for in a graduate but are we helping our students develop them while at university?

This is where the idea to change the presentation of material in Genetics and Society came from. As it is a unit that I have sole responsibility for and the only one I have a substantive lecturing commitment in, it was the ideal unit to practise the 'new' ideas I had been reading and thinking about. How best could I change this unit to develop this holistic examination of material, cope with the increasing amount of knowledge in the field of genetics and aid students in developing these attributes that employers are demanding of graduates? How could I get the students to think? These are people who are present at university because they show an aptitude for thinking. Why is it we rarely ask them to do this?

What do Jo, Marieta and Paul find out about Genetics and Society?

From the handbook they had a very scanty picture.

So far it looks OK. We have more pluses than negatives. Jo mentions that there is a girl on her floor that is doing it now so they decide to go and see her just to get some more information and especially what sort of things they talked about.

Sarah told them that one of the sessions was 2 hours long (groans all round) but quickly says that coffee and what they do make it too short sometimes. There aren't many straight lectures, most of the work is done by looking at case studies and they work in groups to find out what different genetic disorders are about and how these affect the way the people and their families live. The two-hour sessions included brainstorming, discussions and feedback related to the current scenario but also covered various skills. 'How to' sessions on problem solving, discussion of poster and pamphlet presentation, using various computer programs and the World Wide Web were included. This sounded just what the three of the students wanted. Sarah also assured them that going to the residential school was definitely well worth the effort and they'll learn a lot from it as well as have some fun.

Of course, the main question they all had of Sarah was how much work did they have to do (they are students after all!). There is a problem-style group of questions due in the third week. This was really to find out how much we all ready knew as well as if we could look up info from a book and what we had learnt from the first case study. That was OK. Then we had to design a poster or a pamphlet on any genetic disorder we wanted. This was good as we had to look up info on the web and other books and journals. Then we had to give a seminar about it at the res school. This was a bit nerve racking but it was good to hear about all the other disorders and many we hadn't even known existed. Instead of an essay we were expected to write up our case studies in a journal - like a diary. I got a bit behind but as this was our notes for the unit as well as how we felt, what we found out and lists of resources we used it wasn't so hard. Then there is another problem-style assignment we have to do towards the end of the unit. And finally an exam - but only 50% of the final grade. They asked Sarah if this was more than the other 2nd year units she was doing and she said it ended up being about the same, but was a lot better and she learnt more than from doing just a couple of essays. However some of her friends think it is too much. The best things were the group work and seeing how the genetics fitted in with how the body works and how people feel about what they have. She had to make notes and summaries from the lecture notes and textbook, but no more than for other units.

How have I felt with this presentation style?

The discussion I recounted above is the result of the integration of survey responses from students from the last two years since I have used PBL in Genetics and Society. I have been confident of its adaptation to this subject for the internal section of the class but I feel there is still a lot of work needed by me to make it just as useful and workable for the external students. As far as the internal component is concerned, adding a second weekly group session this year increased the opportunities for me to guide the students - especially in the beginning - while also allowing time for mini-lectures to be given to supplement the information the students were having trouble finding or understanding. I felt more comfortable with the work I had to do this year. Last year I felt I was going into a class unprepared because I didn't have the comforting bundle of overheads under my arm and was unsure about what I would be asked about. This year I was more prepared to 'go with the flow' as well as having some back up work prepared to extend the work that was being done, if the students came to a dead end or felt they had completed the task at hand. After talking with a couple of other lecturers using this approach, this paralleled their experiences. The work with external students has not gone smoothly. Although I thought I had put clearly on paper what I expected of them as far as formally writing up their case studies, several were unsure of what I wanted. After talking to them at the residential school, a lot of this was due to them not being confident in writing down their own thoughts and what they did. It was a new situation for them and they needed a bit more hand-holding than I had anticipated. After the residential school they all felt confident in presenting their journals for assessment. Overall, they have enjoyed the inclusion of case studies to help follow the holistic approach I developed with the internal students. They all have commented on the ease of retaining and understanding knowledge-based information because of personal investigation and its incorporation into realistic scenarios. They also felt more confident in following through further investigations as they had learnt the basic concepts and how to apply them to new situations as well as where to go to find more 'scientific' information when needed.

Overall, I felt that the students gained from the use of PBL in this unit. Those who put the effort into working through the semester not only had a better grasp of the knowledge, but the skills to apply it and continue their studies of genetics, both formally and in later life. The skills they learnt far surpassed those of the unit material. The ability to work in teams, to be able to search written and web-based information and what to look for to assess its suitability to the task, to communicate clearly in various modes, to recognise they are part of society and their actions reflect on themselves as well as the society in which they live, are attributes we are all hoping to develop in our students. Employers continuously look for these skills to differentiate between those potential employees who are academically suited to the job. The students who complete units or courses, in which problem-based learning is employed, must be ahead in the employment stakes.

I will continue to use the problem-based learning strategy with this unit. There will be a lot of time required to rework case studies and amend unit notes to include external students from the beginning, but I feel the effort will pay off for the students. I am a lecturer - a teacher - not just a researcher having to fill in one of the requirements of my job. My main role is to help the students to master the various skills needed to find a satisfying place in society and use the concepts in genetics to aid this. Utilising problem-based learning strategies for their genetic studies will enhance the students' ability to fulfil their goal of completing a degree and finding a worthwhile occupation.

What have Jo, Marieta and Paul decided?

Jo and Paul have decided to enrol in Genetics and Society next year. Marieta has looked at her overall program and decided that it would fit better as a 3rd year option and will commence her studies in it in a later year.

Writing this up as the students are asked to in their journals (- part only): Problem: What to study next year.

References

Aldred, S; Aldred, M; Walsh, J; Dick, B, 1997. The direct & indirect costs of implementing problem-based learning into traditional courses within universities, Australian Government Publishing Service

Glasgow, N A, 1996, New Curriculum for New Times, Corwin Press, Inc

Harvey L; Moon, S; Geall, V; Bower, R, 1997, Graduates Work: Organisational change and students' attributes, Update, Issue no. 10

Herreid C F, 1998, Why Isn't Cooperative Learning Used To Teach Science, BioScience Vol. 48 No.7

Little P, 1998, Introduction To Problem Based Learning, PROBLARC

Perkins, D, 1993, Thinking-Centred Learning, Educational Leadership, V51, No 4 7