Problem-based learning in a
differentiated framework
Statement of the issues
• Objective: To teach a point of language to HL
learners.
• The challenge of diversity: HL learners differ from
each other with regard to their knowledge and
skills surrounding the point of grammar. Mixed
classes present another layer of diversity issues.
• The challenge of insufficiency of class time: There
is more to teach than there is time to teach it.
HLLs
Statement of the issues (cont.)
Limitations of traditional approaches:
– Are one-size-fits-all
– Involve passive learning (presentation,
practice, product [PPP])
– Offer limited opportunities for collaborative
dialogue
Collaborative dialogue
• Dialogue in which speakers are engaged in
problem solving and knowledge building. It
heightens the potential for exploration of the
product….Collaborative dialogue mediates
joint problem solving and knowledge building
(Swain, p.102).
Outline of a solution
Problem-based learning:
– First developed in medical training in the
1950s;
– Learning is initiated by presenting a
problem, typically in a question format,
rather than teaching the content.
Roles
• The instructor:
– selects and formulates the problem(s);
– facilitates collaborative dialogue and self-
directed learning by students.
• Students:
– are active learners;
– engage in collaborative dialogue and
reflective thinking to explore the problem;
– develop personal solutions.
Related approaches
• Task-based learning;
• Project-based learning;
• As opposed to the above approaches, problem-
based learning, as presented here, is not focused
on meaning or communication, but rather on a
rule of language, typically, one involving
orthography;
• However, problem-based learning can indeed
focus on meaning or communication, by
connecting to a project.
To keep in mind
• The application of problem-based learning
described in the lessons that follow is best
used as a supplement to instruction, not the
“meat and potatoes” of HL teaching;
• The main advantage of this approach resides
in its ability to differentiate instruction of
particular aspects of grammar and teach
learner autonomy.
PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IN MY
HL CLASS
Problem of the week
• Every Tuesday, 1:15 hour
• Sample problem: How is capitalization
done in Spanish?
• Activities: Multiple passes or stabs at
solving this problem
• Products: Cheat sheet + quiz
(personal textbook)
ACTIVITIES AND PRODUCTS
First pass
Aimless searching for information (10-12
minutes)
– Ill-defined problem: What are the rules of
capitalization in Spanish?
– Initial reaction:
Second pass
An activity that helps students notice their
knowledge gaps (10 minutes)
Examples: a short quiz, an activity involving
editing
Knowledge gaps in the area of capitalization
• We’re going to visit The/the? Vatican.
• Miguel De/de Cervantes Saavedra wrote the
first novel.
• My favorite book is Love In/in The/the Time of
Cholera.
• “I’ve waited for years for this moment” –
Her/her voice broke.
Second pass
• A reassessment: Oh, oh, I don’t know this as
well as I thought I did…
Second pass
• Noticing the details, anticipating roadblocks
or difficulties.
• As students move through the activity:
What do I need to know and be able to do to
master this material?
Third pass:
Collaborative learning
Working in groups, students start to identify key
knowledge and skills for the quiz (10 minutes):
• What does this rule mean?
• What do I need to know and be able to do to
well on the quiz?
• How can we help each other master this
material?
Fourth pass:
Integration, representation, transfer
• Preparing a cheat sheet (10 minutes);
• What must be included in the cheat sheet and
what can be left out?
• How do I best represent the knowledge that I
have gained?
– Rules, examples, tricky details, things that I
find difficult.
Fifth pass:
Personalization and collaboration
• Presenting their cheat sheet to their group (10
minutes);
• As they listen to each other, students help
each other improve their cheat sheet and
deepen their understanding of the topic.
Finally…
• The quiz: 10 minutes
• On the way out the door, they turn in their cheat
sheet as their exit card.
• Homework:
Sixth pass: They work on online exercises to
further master the topic.
Seventh pass: They create a chapter or unit on
the topic, which becomes a piece of a
personalized textbook that they use when taking
the final and turn in at the end of the semester.
Summary: The activities
• First pass: Aimless searching for information
• Second pass: An activity that helps students notice
their knowledge gaps (also holes in knowledge)
• Third pass: Working in groups, students discuss their
findings and start to construct key pieces of knowledge
• Fourth pass: Preparing a cheat sheet
• Fifth pass: Presenting their cheat sheet to their group
• QUIZ
• Sixth pass: Online practice
• Seventh pass: Creating an entry for a personalized
textbook
How this connects to what we did this
morning
• I have a list of language topics that I want to
cover with my students:
– Macro-based (topics that emerge from the
products, e.g. capitalization, accents);
– Research-based (e.g. gender, plural, formal
language, false cognates, etc.);
– Experience-based (what I observe with my
students);
Selecting topics for the problem of the week
Macro/prod
uct based
Research on
Experience
HL learners
ANOTHER SAMPLE PROBLEM:
ORTHOGRAPHIC ACCENTUATION
First pass: The ill-defined problem
• Go online and find the rules of orthographic
accentuation,
e.g. Número, numero, numeró;
QUESTION: What vocabulary do you need to
know in order to understand these rules?
e.g. penultimate, antepenultimate
Second pass: Noticing knowledge gaps
• Apply the rules to accentuate the following
words, as needed:
espiritu, arbol, calor, etc.
• Students:
– I can’t do this!!!
– I can’t hear where the stress falls.
Third pass: Accessing key information
• Locating the stressed syllable;
• Interpreting and applying the rules;
• Practicing.
Fourth and fifth pass:
PREPARING A CHEAT SHEET:
REPRESENTATION AND MASTERY OF
INFORMATION
Why an index card?
• To keep students from mindlessly copying
everything they find;
• I want them to think strategically about what
absolutely must go in the exit card and what
can be left out;
• Other ways to restrict the card: word count,
diagram.
Knowledge and skills gained
• Accessing information: Internet, more
knowledgeable others (MKO), etc.;
• Approaching learning: General rules,
examples, particular details, irregularities,
English;
• Diagnosing learning needs;
• Addressing those needs (strategies: practice,
seeking help, etc.);
• Representing knowledge (diagrams,
mnemonic device, etc.).
Knowledge and skills gained
• Gathering information:
Accessing information: Internet, more
knowledgeable others (MKO), etc.;
• Processing information:
Approaching learning: General rules, examples,
particular details, irregularities, English; Diagnosing
learning needs, Addressing those needs (strategies:
practice, seeking help, etc.);
• Reporting on information:
Representing knowledge (diagrams, mnemonic
device, etc.).
THIS GENERAL APPROACH
ADDRESSES TWO ISSUES
Statement of the issues
• The challenge of diversity: HL learners differ
from each other with regard to their
knowledge and skills surrounding the point of
grammar. Mixed classes present another layer
of diversity issues.
• The challenge of insufficiency of class time:
There is more to teach than there is time to
teach it.
THE CHALLENGE OF DIVERSITY
Mixed classes
• Varied process: Students collaborate to help
each other master the material (HLLs + L2Ls);
• Varied product: Students produce different
cheat sheets, depending on their needs vis-à-
vis the material;
• Varied content but same outcome or
endpoint.
THE CHALLENGE OF INSUFFICIENCY
OF CLASS TIME
Autonomous learners
• Accessing information: Internet, more
knowledgeable others (MKO), etc.;
• Approaching learning: General rules,
examples, particular details, irregularities,
English;
• Diagnosing learning needs;
• Addressing those needs (strategies: practice,
seeking help, etc.);
• Representing knowledge (diagrams,
mnemonic device, etc.).
Summarizing: Caveats
This approach:
• doesn’t work with every aspect of language
(orthography is best);
• requires careful selection, statement, and
structuring of the problem on the part of the
instructor;
• takes more time than the traditional PPP
approach;
• Is not focused on meaning or communication.
Works cited
• Beckett, G. H. (1999). Project-based instruction in a Canadian secondary school's ESL
classes: Goals and evaluations (Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia).
• Loyens, S. M. M., Kirschner, P. & Paas, F. (2011). Problem-based Learning. In K. R. Harris, S.
Graham & T. Urdan (Eds.), APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol 2 (p. a).
Washington: American Psychological Association.
• Negueruela, E. and J.P. Lantolf (2005). “Concept-Based Instruction: Teaching Grammar in
an Intermediate-Advanced Spanish L2 University Classroom”. CALPER Working Papers
Series, No. 3. The Pennsylvania State University, Center for Advanced Language Proficiency
Education and Research.
• Shepard, L. (2000). The role of assessment in a learning culture. Educational Researcher,
29(7), 4-14.
• Stetsenko, A., & Arievitch, I. (1997). Constructing and deconstructing the self: Comparing
post-Vygotskian and discourse-based versions of social constructivism. Mind, Culture, and
Activity, 4(3), 159-172.
• Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through
collaborative dialogue. Sociocultural theory and second language learning, 97, 114.
