Instructional Science 25: 97115, 1997.
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c 1997 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Using multimedia to overcome the problems with problem based
learning
BOB HOFFMAN and DONN RITCHIE
Department of Educational Technology, College of Education, San Diego State University,
San Diego, CA 92182-1182 USA
Abstract. Much of the literature on problem based learning (PBL) is concerned with efficacy
or with guidelines on design or implementation. Relatively few articles focus on problems
with problem based learning, and none that we could find provided suggestions as to how
interactive multimedia might help alleviate those problems. In this article we begin with a
review of problem based learning including a rationale for its use in the curriculum. Then we
identify some of the problems inherent in designing and implementing problem based learning,
and end the article with a discussion of how multimedia might be used to address some of
those problems.
Key words: problem based learning, interactive multimedia
What is problem based learning?
Problem based learning is a student-centered pedagogical strategy that
poses significant, contextualized, real-world, ill-structured situations while
providing resources, guidance, instruction, and opportunities for reflection to
learners as they develop content knowledge and problem-solving skills.
Bridges (1992, pp. 56) outlines the chief characteristics of PBL:
1. The starting point for learning is a problem (that is, a stimulus for which
an individual lacks a ready response).
2. The problem is one that students are apt to face as future professionals.
3. The knowledge that students are expected to acquire during their profes-
sional training is organized around problems rather than the disciplines.
4. Students, individually and collectively, assume a major responsibility for
their own instruction and learning.
5. Most of the learning occurs within the context of small groups rather than
lectures.
Bridges definition of a problem as a situation for which an individual lacks
a ready response (p. 5) is expansive enough to imply opportunities as well.
For example, an engineer tasked with designing a bridge, while anticipating
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numerous sub-problems, is also likely to view the job as an opportunity. This
is true for many professionals engaged in design, management, and other
creative enterprises.
Teachers who structure their courses around a problem based learning ped-
agogy typically use either a series of short- or intermediate-term problems, or
a single large problem for students to tackle. Regardless of size, the problems
are embedded in relevant, richly contextualized situations. Learners progress
through a series of activities in which they analyze problems; consider proba-
ble solutions; and plan, develop, and evaluate those solutions. The role of the
instructor is primarily to guide, probe, and support the students initiatives,
rather than to lecture, direct, or provide solutions (Kaufman, 1989, p. 286).
While instructor-led activities may still play a role in a PBL course, learners
pursue new skills and knowledge mostly on their own or in task groups using
a variety of resources.
The basic tenets of PBL are traced by some to ancient times.
The earliest models of teaching including the Socratic method rely on the
analysis of hypothetical situations involving solving problems or formu-
lating strategies to discuss given situations (Ostwald, Chen, Varnam, and
McGeorge, 1991, p. 1).
Contemporary approaches to problem based learning were pioneered at
Case Western Reserve University in the early 1950s and now play an impor-
tant role as the primary learning method at many secondary, post-secondary,
and graduate schools, particularly many medical schools (Savery, 1994).
Why use PBL?
The use of PBL has continued to increase over the last 40 years, and is
now included in a variety of disciplines from elementary grades through post
graduate schooling. This increase in use is attributable to the benefits of PBL.
Bridges (1992, p. 15) summarizes some of the claims made by advocates
of problem-based learning in comparison with more conventional didactic
methods:
1. PBL students develop substantially more positive attitudes toward the
learning environment.
2. Students tend to study for meaning rather than to reproduce instructor-
proffered material.
3. PBL students complete instructional programs in less time and with fewer
dropouts than do students in traditional learning environments.
