Problem-based Learning in an Online Course: A case study

Authors

  • James D. Cheaney Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology at Iowa State University, USA.
  • Thomas Ingebritsen Iowa State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v6i3.267

Abstract

Problem-based learning (PBL) is the use of a “real world” problem or situation as a context for learning. The present study explores the use of PBL in an online biotechnology course. In the PBL unit, student groups dealt with the ethical, legal, social, and human issues surrounding pre-symptomatic DNA testing for a genetic disease. Issues concerning implementation of PBL in the online environment are discussed, as are differences between online PBL and face-to-face PBL. This study provides evidence to suggest that PBL stimulates higher-order learning in students. However, student performance on a lower-level exam testing acquisition of factual knowledge was slightly lower for PBL students than for students who learned the same material through a traditional lecture-based approach. Possible reasons for this lower level of performance are explored. Student reactions and feedback to the PBL format yield more insight into issues surrounding the implementation of PBL in the online environment.

Keywords: problem-based learning, case-based learning, distance education, cooperative learning, genetic diseases, genetic testing, instructional design

Author Biographies

James D. Cheaney, Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology at Iowa State University, USA.

James Cheaney is a PhD candidate in the Zoology program of the Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology at Iowa State University, USA. His research deals with pedagogical issues involved with the implementation of problem-based learning in an online biotechnology course. James Cheaney?s email address is jcheaney@iastate.edu

Thomas Ingebritsen, Iowa State University

Thomas Ingebritsen is an Associate Professor involved in outreach and distance education programs at Iowa State University. He is Director of the Center for Online Learning, a facility that provides technological and pedagogical support for the development and use of on-line instruction and assessment. Dr. Ingebritsen?s email address is: tsingebr@iastate.edu

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Published

2006-02-22

How to Cite

Cheaney, J. D., & Ingebritsen, T. (2006). Problem-based Learning in an Online Course: A case study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v6i3.267

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 3 (2005)

Section

Research Articles

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