Computer Supported Problem Based Learning:
The case of project failure
Urban Nuldén Helana Scheepers
Department of Informatics, School of Department of Informatics, University
Economics and Commercial Law, of Pretoria, South Africa
Goteborg University, Sweden hscheep@[Link]
nulden@[Link]
ABSTRACT
In this short paper we present an ongoing research project on computer
supported problem based learning (PBL). We believe that the advancement of
multimedia technology provides an opportunity to extend this alternative model
of learning. We have surveyed experienced PBL students and teachers to find
ideas on how current problem based learning activities can be enriched or
transformed by interactive multimedia.
To be presented at the sixth European Conference on Information Systems
(ECIS) Aix-en-Provence, France, June 4-6 1998.
Computer Supported Problem Based Learning:
The case of project failure
Urban Nuldén Helana Scheepers
Department of Informatics, School of Department of Informatics, University
Economics and Commercial Law, of Pretoria, South Africa
Goteborg University, Sweden hscheep@[Link]
nulden@[Link]
ABSTRACT
In this short paper we present an ongoing research project on computer
supported problem based learning (PBL). We believe that the advancement of
multimedia technology provides an opportunity to extend this alternative model
of learning. We have surveyed experienced PBL students and teachers to find
ideas on how current problem based learning activities can be enriched or
transformed by interactive multimedia.
1. INTRODUCTION
Problem based learning (PBL) as an alternative pedagogical model is gaining
popularity in higher education. Computing education such as software
engineering, management information systems and informatics are no
exceptions. In PBL the starting point of learning is a real world phenomenon or
problem the learner wishes to learn more about. The role of the educator is to
present or introduce the phenomena or problem in a stimulating way. This is
done through a ‘vignette’ which frequently is a document and it can be anything
between a single paragraph and a twenty page case study. Graphics such as
pictures and cartoons are used to enrich the vignettes, and recently, video clips
are also used. In the same document, the learning objectives of working with the
vignette are stated by the educator. In this research project we explore how
information technology (IT) can be used to support the design of vignettes, but
also how the vignettes can be presented to the students by using IT.
The context for this ongoing research is computing education in a broader
sense and we will use project failure as an example of phenomena that occurs
frequently in different types of projects to exemplify our ideas. IT project failures
are well known to researchers and practitioners in both industry and academia.
There is a large body of literature of case histories (Brooks 1975; Sauer 1993;
Oz 1994), empirical work (Lucas 1975; Ewusi-Mensah and Przasnyski 1991;
Ewusi-Mensah and Prazasnyski 1994), and efforts to systematize the empirical
work (Lyytinen and Hirschheim 1987; Flowers 1997). Recently a new journal
has been fully devoted to this topic, namely “Failure & Lessons Learned in
Information Technology Management.”
Project management is a practical task, which we often find difficult to teach
realistically with traditional and conventional methods. Courses covering
project management often simulate real world project like situations. Early
project management simulations were built on very rational ideals, while current
simulations include more complex dimensions. Today, educators design
situations where students are requested to perform under business pressures.
Popular ways to enhance the realism is communication and interaction with
simulated project staff, users and consultants. Other ways are, pin pointing
typical project problems such as absenteeism, staff diverted to higher priorities,
design problems, technical problems, changed requirements, personality
conflicts, overstaffing and resignations. Whereas project failure is used to
exemplify our ideas the general question addressed in the on-going research is:
How can computing technology enhance problem based learning? And more
specifically addressed in this paper: How can multimedia enrich the vignette?
The remainder of the paper is organized in the following sections which all
are to be further developed. First we outline our understanding of learning as a
concept. Similarly, the apprehension of teaching is discussed. In the section
Practice, we very briefly discuss the relation between teaching and learning from
the perspective of problem based learning. In Ideas, we elaborate our ideas about
computer enhancement of problem based learning. In the last section we discuss
results so far, implications, limitations and outline future work.
2. LEARNING
Our perspective on learning is collaborativism (Slavin 1990) which serves as a
theoretical foundation for the project. This perspective asserts that learners
construct knowledge by making sense in terms of what they already know and
in interaction with other individuals. We are moving from a transfer of
information from teachers to students towards a social and individual
constructing of knowledge. According to constructivism, people can only
understand what they have constructed themselves. A crucial issue here is
engagement. To engage in deep learning (Ramsden 1992) the individual must
be engaged (Norman and Spohrer 1996). We find that these fundamentals of
learning is realized in problem based learning (PBL). For a more thorough
introduction to PBL see for instance [Link]
Boud and Feletti 1991 or Engel 1991. A central idea in PBL is that learning is
enhanced if the educational activity center around an authentic task or problem
that is relevant and presented in a context. This way the objective is to enable
the students to experience the kind of situations they will be dealing with in
professional life. The importance of experience is emphasized in Kolb’s model
of learning which begins with a concrete experience (Kolb 1976).
Problem based learning is NOT another way of teaching as it is a
fundamentally different approach to learning than traditional teaching. Problem
based learning represents a significant challenge to orthodox beliefs about
education and learning (Margretson 1991). Central in PBL is the students’
development of independent life-long learning. Their own questions, experience,
formulations and conceptions of problems serve as the basis for learning.
Participating in change and self-directed learning are composite competencies
today. PBL is claimed to be a method that will assist students in developing a
set of competencies: adapting to and participating in change; dealing with
problems, making reasoned decisions in unfamiliar situations; reasoning
critically and creatively; adopting a more universal or holistic approach;
practicing empathy, appreciating the other person's point of view. PBL is also
an approach of choice in higher education, because it is suitable for adult
learning. In PBL learning becomes progressively less straightforward but more
complex, as well as more challenging to both students and educators.
3. TEACHING
As PBL encourages open-minded, reflective, critical and active learning it is a
threat to teachers who prefer total control over the content to be learned and
passive students. Educators who conceive education as a one-way process of
information transmission and restrict the notion of problem to small, atomic,
single difficulties with a single optimal solution are uncomfortable with PBL.
With PBL, the role of the teacher is changing from a provider of facts to the one
that facilitates a learning environment and creates a sense of community. This
way, we argue, PBL is both morally and ethically correct as it pays respect to
both students and teachers as individuals with knowledge, understanding,
feelings and interests who come together in a shared learning process.
With this in mind, we are currently investigating the field of experiential
learning to find theories and ideas to support our work. Experiential learning has
been around since the early 1950’s. The underlying principle is that the best
learning is by doing (Graf and Kellogg 1990, p. 231). Examples of experiential
learning are internships, computer assisted instruction, live case, case studies,
role play, games and simulations. Simulation is probably the most common
and has long been a feasible way for educators to present complex matters such
as visualization of mathematical, production and logistic processes.
For a better understanding, Graf proposes a number of general characteristics
of experiential learning activities (Graf and Kellogg 1990, p.237 – 248), and we
find the following characteristics to be valuable in this project. First, chained
decisions, where the result of one set of decision influence the rest of the
decision making process. Second, debriefing, which refers to the type of
debriefing that is given after the activity has been finished. Third, skill focus,
refers to the type and range of skills being taught. Fourth, computerized, refers
to the distinction of the use of computers in the delivery of the activity.
Innovations in technology, such as multimedia, hypertext, video, Internet
and virtual reality, is now impacting experiential learning. Examples of these
advances in technology are the use of hypertext and the effect it has on the ‘real’
life experience as described in (Kendall, Kendall et al. 1996), the use of
multimedia in systems analysis case studies (Farrimond 1997), or the Cardiac
Tutor (Park Wolf 1996) were the student is in middle of the emergency room.
From a PBL perspective the difficult task for the educators is to identify what
type of learning experience the learner should have. The awareness of the
purpose and methodology of the experiential activity is underlined by Jones
(1997) where the damaging effect a simulation/game can have is identified. The
reason for the damaging effects is that the instructor does not recognize the
methodological conflict in using gaming and simulation.
While it is very easy for educators to become enthusiastic about PBL as an
alternative activity, there are of course potential drawbacks. Some PBL becomes
mechanical in practice, applied to train students in problem solving and acquire
the knowledge for only this. In these cases, the potential for deeper, holistic,
creative reflection and learning is lost through the predefined problem solving
process.
4. PRACTICE
PBL in practice can take many forms. In this research the core of PBL is the
‘base-group’ session where the students work in groups of seven to eight for one
to two weeks. The sessions are part of a module which spans over eight weeks.
An educator facilitates the group process and assure that the group work
according to the model (outlined below), but at the same time keeps a low
profile not to interfere with the group dynamics. The work of the base-group is
guided through the eight step model briefly outlined below.
• Step 1: The base-group is introduced to the vignette (as described in the
introduction).
• Step 2: The group discusses and identifies the problem or phenomenon
covered in the vignette.
• Step 3: The next step involves brainstorming around the result from step 2.
• Step 4: Systematize the brainstorming in the previous step. Find relations,
categorize and eliminate irrelevant sections of the brainstorming.
• Step 5: The group formulates concrete learning objectives and states clear
questions to work with.
• Step 6: Search and gather information and facts.
• Step 7: Systematize the new knowledge and validate the knowledge in
relation to step 5.
• Step 8: Document and present the acquired knowledge in an appropriate
way.
The model is divided in two distinct phases. The first phase (steps 1 through 5)
consists of three hours of concentrated discussion and work in the base-group
facilitated by the educator. In the second phase (steps 6 through 8) students
work on their own for, as in our case, one to two weeks.
5. IDEAS
In this section we outline our ideas on how to enrich the first step of the PBL
process, that is, the vignette. As stated before, advancements of multimedia
technology provides us with an opportunity to enhance the design and
presentation of vignettes. As one source of information, we surveyed 20 students
with six months experience of PBL and three facilitators with two open ended
questions: In your opinion, what makes a good vignette good, and what makes
one poor? How would you describe the relation between the basic group, their
work, and the vignette?
The survey revealed several interesting aspects about vignettes. First, several
students pin-pointed the soul of the vignette, “I think that it is important that
the vignette shows that the author has put his heart in it, not just made
‘another vignette’“. Second, real cases, i.e., material from what is happening in
the world at the moment: “The vignette should include topics currently
discussed in media.” Third, variation and layout, especially in a longer module
with a number of vignettes they have to be designed in various formats, and:
“enhanced with something that exceeded the language.” Some students also
stated that: “we miss the unexpected in the vignettes,” and “we have not
experienced any really touching vignettes.” In addition to this, we find our own
experience of facilitating PBL sessions to be consistent with these conceptions.
Our major observation is that a greate number of vignettes seem to have very
low quality when it comes to stimulating students.
Supported by the literature, the result of the survey we and our own
experience we have started to elaborate our ideas about multimedia vignettes.
Basically, our idea is to design and develop a vignette about IT project failure.
The purpose of such a vignette is to direct the attention of the base-group to the
complexity of IT project management. The vignette is currently being
implemented in a world wide web (WWW) hypertext based scenario. The base-
group is asked to act as project members. They navigate through a project over
time and make decisions about the project. Figure 1 below is an outline of the
whole vignette.
Figure 1. Outline of the whole vignette.
The scene serve as building blocks for the vignette. New information about the
project is presented in each scene and the group is required to make decisions
about things such as technology, personnel and dates. Each scene in the vignette
consists of a series of WWW pages with one or a number of objects embedded.
This can be graphics, sound, movies or database interfaces. The purpose of the
scene is to present information to the base-group and in some of the scenes the
group are then required to make a decision. Figure 2 below is an example of a
scene where the base-group has to make a decision about choosing an additional
project member.
The students get some background information to make the decision. In this
case, a simulated e-mail with the news that the most experienced programmer
has suddenly left the organization and the project manager i.e., the base-group,
has to hire a new programmer. They have three potential candidates, as shown
in figure two. Information about each of the prospects is presented, such as CV,
personal home page etc. Each person has both good and less desired
characteristics which makes the choice a trade-off for the group. No matter which
person is hired, there will be consequences later in the scenario. Our intention is
to make the students, not only read about the problem, but actively be part in
the creation of it. That is, they experience the sense of time and how they have
been part of the project during this time. Decisions made are actually made by
the base-group and they have thereby invested themselves in the decisions.
Figure 2. New virtual project member scene.
Time passes in the project and the group faces additional information, and has
to make other decisions. Finally, as figure 1 shows, the group will end up in
the single last scene of the vignette. This is how the educator responsible for the
vignette makes sure the students meet the learning objectives of the PBL
session. Let us give an example. After the group has worked with the vignette
for 30 minutes, been confronted with various project problems, and has been
making a number of decisions about database managers, upgrading of software,
hiring and firing of people etc., and more and more becoming aware of that the
project is probably about to fail. The last scene is from the board room were the
president of the company and the CIO questions your (the base-group’s) ability
to manage the project. The group is of course debriefed and the functionality
behind the vignette is explained.
6. DISCUSSION
In this paper we have outlined an on-going research project about problem based
learning (PBL). We have argued that certain phases of PBL, namely ‘the
vignette’ can be enhanced with the use of computing technology, and especially
multimedia. We have conducted a literature review and surveyed students and
educators about vignettes and with that as well as our own experience we have
started the design of computer based vignettes.
Our results so far are very tentative. However, we argue that the survey
showed us some important things about the design of vignettes, both traditional
and multimedia. For the continued work, we will involve practitioners to ensure
reliability of the content in the next phase which is to fully implement the
failing project vignette, followed by an evaluation of the usefulness of it. Our
intention is to explore the possibility to develop a generic framework or software
tool for the design of multimedia vignettes. We also intend to look at the other
phases of the eight step PBL model to find other uses of computing technology
to enhance the learning process.
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