IBL, PBL and PjBL

 


IBL, PBL and PjBL

Inquiry-, project-, or problem-based learning or IBL, PBL and PjBL based learning all have their roots in Piaget’s approach of constructivism (Kimberlin Education, 2019). They are different yet overlapping. The heart of all is learning about a concept or content. IBL would start from a question which is open ended and can lead to many branches of sub questions. If we look at it from the lens PBL, then the question becomes one whose source is a real-life situation or a problem to be solved. If the lens is PjBL, then the real-life problem becomes big enough to warrant a product that comes with a complete solution. PBjL would also entail a long span of work with multiple skills included. We can say that IBL is a subset of PBL and PBL is a subset of PjBL (Larner, 2015).

How do we Decide Which One to Use?

I feel it depends on the milieu that one works in. the country, resources, kind of students, curriculum and the social landscape. While my favourite is a judicious mix of all three, the most effective for my milieu, a math class in IGCSE based middle school in India, would be PBL. This is because while the curriculum is very advanced, parents of the school kids aren’t. The background is business, and their focus is more and more practice of math in order to pass the exam with flying colours. Their background of money has made them aspirants of the kids studying in top universities in the USA, however their approach is very Indian.

Reasons for my Choice

I am very progressive in my approach and believe in creating an eco-system where learning can happen naturally in the class. However, I need to balance my preferred approach with the expectations of the milieu. Hence, I feel that having PBL gives me the space to balance the expectations with a slight pressure to expand it towards including critical thinking skills also. I also use it in tandem with cooperative and individual learning and that expands the skills further towards building of life skills. This is very satisfying to me as I see the kids improving in math confidence. However, it is not at the cost of exam skills or marks for I am able to have enough time for practice sessions.

Analyzing my Approach

My approach is cognitive and affective. Students work in groups or alone towards the PBL tasks. As their self-sufficiency grows, I bring in choice for them to decide on their own on day-to-day basis their preferred mode of learning. I ask them to present their work to the peers' face to face or prepare a video where the rest of the class can comment.

When I was in school, the approach was only textbook problem solving based. The teacher modelled a problem, and we were expected to solve a hundred of the same. There was no exposure to real life or to working with the others. I think there may be an overlap to how I was taught but my classroom is much richer and integrated than the one I was brought up in.

Self-Reflection

The last question was a shock! My approach to teaching overlaps the way I was taught. I am contemplating this for I never expected this realization. Am I so much still in the past that the approach I was taught in stays in my eco system? This is strange for I prided myself in my approach to teaching. I think I will need a lot of time to process this and learn from it.

 

References

        Kimberlin Education. (2019, August 13). IBL, PBL and PjBL, what's the difference?  http://kimberlineducation.com/ibl-pbl-and-pjbl-whats-the-difference/

        Larmer, J. (2015, July 13). Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbl-john-larmer.

 

 

 

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