Experienced PBL instructors from the PHOTON PBL project have also enrolled in the
course as mentors who monitor discussions and provide guidance to new faculty. Course
participants work in small teams of 3-4 teachers to model the dynamics of how the PBL
Challenges will be used in their classrooms. Using Blackboard Vista® as a course delivery
platform, participants work to solve three STEM PBL Challenges, beginning with a
Structured format (Session I), then a Guided format (Session II), and finally an Open-ended
format (Session III) through threaded discussions and online chats. From session to session,
the participants are given greater autonomy as more responsibility is placed on them to selfdirect
their own learning. The course structure, from highly structured to open-ended will
emulate the way instructors will use Challenges with their own students. Between online
class sessions, participants will collaborate with each other, PHOTON PBL mentors and the
STEM PBL project team to explore how best to incorporate the PBL Challenges into their
own classroom and curriculum.