Geology and Environment: A Problem-Based Learning Study in Higher Education

• Main Authors: Tânia Pinto, António Guerner Dias, Clara Vasconcelos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Geosciences
• Subjects: problem-based learning; geology and environment; higher education; questioning; triangulation of methods
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11/4/173

We aimed to contribute to a shift in higher education teaching and learning methods by considering problem-based learning (PBL) as an approach capable of positively affecting students from a geology and environment (GE) curricular unit. In a convenience sample from a Portuguese public university, two groups of students were defined: (1) an experimental group (<i>n</i> = 16), to which an intervention program (IP) based on PBL was applied, and (2) a comparison group (<i>n</i> = 17), subjected to the traditional teaching approach. For nine weeks, students subject to the IP faced four problem scenarios about different themes. A triangulation of methods was chosen. The study involved two phases: (1) qualitative (sustained on content analysis of driving questions raised by students, registered in a monitoring sheet) and (2) quantitative (quasi-experimental study, based on data from a prior and post-test knowledge assessment). The qualitative results point to the development of more complex cognitive-level questioning skills after increasing familiarity with PBL. The data obtained in the quantitative study, which included both a “within-subjects” and a “between-subjects” design, show higher benefits in the experimental group, documenting gains in terms of scientific knowledge when using the PBL methodology.