Prof. David Millar presents draft concept paper for PBL in NAVASCO as part of his Birthday Anniversary
As part of his birthday Anniversary, President of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies Professor David Millar who also doubled as an old student of Navrongo Senior High School have put up a ‘draft concept paper’ for what he called a Novel Approach to Teaching and Learning in Secondary Institutions in Ghana Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Navrongo Senior High School (NAVASCO). According to Professor Millar, “The records show that University for Development Studies, Tamale was first to introduce PBL in her Medical Programs in Ghana, and University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, was first to do likewise in a Social Science Programs. The same records show that PBL is alien to Secondary Institutions”. “The public have bemoaned the education standards in the country and the general perception is that they are following along with the fact that they are not relevant for purpose. A clarion call from stakeholders but especially from the Education Minister during his recent visit to the UN Submit (September 2022) added to the need for proactive strategies to salvage Ghana’s Education”. He said: “In sharing with these concerns the Old Students Association of Navrongo Senior High School (NABIA), is attempting at heeding the call by all a sundry to come out with innovations to help salve her Alma Mata”. Meanwhile, as part of his birthday anniversary, Profession David Millar presented the concept paper to the school management and staff of her Alma Mata NAVSACO. Apexnewsgh.com can confidently report that the management of the school was extremely excited when the draft concept paper was presented to them by astute Professor Millar, as they immediately requested for urgent implementation of the concept. Kindly read the full concept below PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) IN NAVRONGO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (NASVASCO)(DRAFT CONCEPT PAPER) PUT TOGETHER BY PROF. DAVID MILLAR OCTOBER, 2022 PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) INTRODUCED IN NASVASCO: A NOVEL APPROACH TO SECONDARY TEACHING AND LEARNING IN GHANA 1.0 Prelude Problem-Based Learning (PBL) at the Second Cycle Institutions Level is not new in the Advanced Countries but it is relative new in Africa; and in Ghana not known to be practice anywhere at the Secondary Levels. This approach to teaching and learning is very prominent at various Medical Schools the world over. The records show that University for Development Studies, Tamale was first to introduce PBL in her Medical Programs in Ghana, and University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, was first to do likewise in a Social Science Programs. The same records show that PBL is alien to Secondary Institutions. Recent events in the Education Programs in Ghana has given rise to a need for major reforms towards emphasis on TVET and Hands-on Education for various educational offerings. The public have bemoaned the education standards in the country and the general perception is that they are following along with the fact that they are not relevant for purpose. A clarion call from stakeholders but especially from the Education Minister during his recent visit to the UN Submit (September, 2022) added to the need for proactive strategies to salvage Ghana’s Education. In sharing with these concerns the Old Students Association of Navrongo Senior High School (NABIA), is attempting at heeding the call by all a sundry to come out with innovations to help salve her Alma Mata. Hence, the Old Students Association, with her own voluntary contributions, mobilized from Old Students Local and International have offered to launch the PBL program at NAVASCO, in collaboration with GES, the School Authorities, PTAs, and the Student Body. This will be organised first as an ICT-Science Club for PBL (starting with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics as pioneer courses). The experiences from this experiment, if impactful, will then be expanded to other programs of learning. 2.0 What is Problem-Based Learning (PBL)?(This is sub-chapter is extensively from literature)The term “Problem-Based Learning” (PBL) was originally developed by Barrows and Tamblyn (1980) for Medical Education. It is based on the Constructivist Theory of Learning.PBL is a pedagogical strategy that uses open ended / ill-structured problems that mirror real-world problems. The authenticity of the problems helps students to transfer their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom, preparing them for the workplace and life in a rapidly changing world. The open ended nature of problems gives students the flexibility to approach it from different angles, to take different thematic sidelines according to their personal interests. This gives them control of the learning process, capturing their interest and motivating them to learn.Lewis et al. (1998) emphasises that the act of posing problems is integral to the process of solving problems. Finding or posing problems is a creative endeavour that can occur prior to, during, or after the act of problem solving. By keeping the problem definition open, the students can “frame and reframe” their perspective on a problem so they reach “goal clarity”. Educational psychologists have discovered that solving a problem is a back-and-forth (recursive) process, not a linear one (Pea, 1985). In this way the student takes ownership of the problem thus enhancing their engagement and responsibility for the learning process. Suggested principles of PBL (Slavery and Duffy, 1995)• Anchor all learning activities to a larger task or problem.• Support the learner in developing ownership for the overall problem or task.• Design an authentic task.• Design the task and the learning environment to reflect the complexity of the environment they should be able to function in at the end of learning.• Give the learner ownership of the process used to develop a solution.• Design the learning environment to support and challenge the learner’s thinking.• Encourage testing ideas against alternative views and alternative contexts.• Provide opportunity and support for reflection on both the content learned and the learning process.• Gudzial et al. (1997) consider the two most important aspects of Problem-Based Learning to be the authentic real world problems and students reflection on their experiences. • The teacher’s role changes from the provider of content to the facilitator of the learning process. Teachers present students with authentic problems and provide an