Complete thesis - Murdoch University

7.3 Conclusions drawn from Cycle 2The intervention for Cycle 2 was based on a model for Problem-based Learning. PBL emphasises‘learning to learn’ in an environment that moves from dealing with content andinformation in abstract ways to using information in ways that reflect how learners might useit in real life (Oliver and McLoughlin, 1999). In pragmatic terms this means no loss of theadvantages of the Apprenticeship model – situated ‘authentic’ tasks enabling transfer. Anadvantage of PBL, however, is its focus on solving of wicked problems in wicked domains.Evaluation of the PBL model in relation to discipline characteristics indicated that the modeldoes not align well enough to the opportunistic and creative nature of professional practice:students were inhibited by strict adherence to the process. In hindsight, perhaps the strongsupport PBL enjoys in the convergent-focussed medical education arena should have suggestedthis. The conclusion reached was that the PBL methodology could be down-playedso that students could exploit creative opportunity within their own learning.In the same way that the master/apprentice model addressed some aspects of the disciplinepractitioner action and inhibited other, the facilitation aspect of the PBL model also exhibitedelements of an ‘incorrect’ learning environment. A mentor/protégé (Fosnot, 1989)relationship allows teacher and learner to seek to understand each other’s position with theaim of agreement and/or defensible deviations. However, this requires a confidence on thepart of the learner that is not often present at novice stage, and therefore needs to be fostered.The work of Laurillard (1993) develops this concept of learning as a dialogue.Further evaluation of this model indicated that student conceptions of the characteristics oftheir learning environments were related to their study orientations and strategies. Meaningoriented students were likely to see their learning environment with positive terms such ashaving good atmosphere and demanding deep learning while reproduction orientation wasassociated with the view that the learning environment demands surface learning and requiresstudents to be overworked.It would seem that criteria for evaluation of learning (specifically assessment) could go someway to addressing this issue: a study by Sambell et al (1997) suggests that from studentspoints of view, assessment has a positive effect on their learning and is ‘fair’ when it relatesto authentic tasks; represents reasonable demands; encourages them to apply knowledge torealistic contexts; emphasises the need to develop a range of skills and is perceived to havelong-term benefits. Alternative assessment (eg portfolios, demonstrations etc) are perceivedas characterised by these qualities and students report these modes help them to learn in amore in-depth way. However, in our environment students perceived the portfolio as extra-327