A PBL Approach to 1st-year Education in Biology

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  • 生物学基礎教育としてのPBL「現代生物学の話題」の紹介
  • セイブツガク キソ キョウイク ト シテ ノ PBL 「 ゲンダイ セイブツガク ノ ワダイ 」 ノ ショウカイ

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Abstract

The present paper introduces a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach to 1st-year education in Biology. The problems to be investigated consisted of topics drawn from scientific journals and science news on the Internet. Each student selected one topic from a list of four candidates. The students were then grouped based on topic selected. The course proceeded with every two lessons functioning as one set. Each group discussed the problem and decided the contents and stories for presentation in the first lesson. In the second lesson, they gave a presentation which was evaluated based on quality of presentation, questions, and answers to the questions from other students and faculty. A key characteristic of this course is that it does not specify concrete goals in advance. Instead of making a comparison with a preconceived goal for each topic, this process respects the students’ own proposals on their topics of interest, and their presentations are evaluated based on how these matters are discussed. According to the questionnaire, the students’ satisfaction, comprehension, and interest in learning were high. Some students wrote that this course was interesting and valuable with many opportunities for dialogue and discussion among students and faculty. Although homework was not mandatory, average preparation time for each presentation as 1-2 hours per student, suggesting that the students studied according to their own interest in the topic. This type of PBL approach can be seen as an effective method for 1st-year biology as a general education course for students of various majors, and also as fundamental education for students who major in biology in expanding their ideas and ways of thinking.

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