POPBL for Sustainable Development
The introduction of a multidisciplinary course within which almost all generic competencies required for
employability and sustainability can only be delivered through a complex curriculum and innovative teaching and
learning as oppose to traditional teaching method. This is because at lease all six dimensions able to be integrated
through its content and activities. Project based learning is a very common practice in higher education around the
globe. However there is a crucial difference between project based in subject-oriented curriculum and problemoriented
project work (Olsen & Pedersen, 2005). In this paper it is refer to the project work in the problem oriented
curriculum. In a normal subject-based curriculum students usually are given or chosen the topic to be dealt further.
In contrast, POPBL has to start with the analysis of a research problem followed by the design of the project to solve
the problem through the implementation of the activity planned in order to solve the problem under study. The
learning outcome is not merely general knowledge and forming an overview, but the development of analytical
skills and an ability to argue and present solutions and answer to challenging questions.
Problem Based Learning is a well known approach in medical education and it has been a practice for over 40
years in a various disciplines (Strobel & Barneveld, 2009). However the approach might be different according to
the model, discipline and context. In medical PBL approach, problem is introduced before hand and students will
brainstorm for possible solution and justification based on content knowledge. In contrast, problem is formulated by
the student in POPBL.
The basic principles of POPBL can be summarized as:
xStudent-centered and able to motivate and gain commitment among students
xProblem-oriented and not subject-oriented
xFocus is more on learning process in finding solution rather than recall knowledge
xProject-Based which has goal and action for change
xExemplarity instead of generality
xPromote group work/team work, social and communication skills
There are four main phases in POPBL approach namely
x Group Formation
x Problem formulation
x Design and data collection (project implementation) and
x Data analysis and report writing.
4. POPBL in Life Sciences in Education Course