In a period of significant global scientific and technological change tertiary students need to be more adequately prepared to effectively integrate into the competitive working environments of the 21st century. For this reason, these students need to be educated to use a variety of skills such as problem-solving and teamwork to support them in their future working conditions. These skills can be acquired through the use of a range of innovative approaches. A variety of these approaches is being introduced in a range of university courses in different institutions in the western world, including problem-based learning (PBL). The problem-based learning approach is also now being introduced to more traditional learning environments in Asian institutions such as Singapore and Malaysia. My study extends this innovative pedagogical approach, exploring the implementation of a PBL approach across a number of undergraduate classes in two universities in the South of Viet nam. It also reports on the students' perspectives in learning through a PBL approach. This study examines the impact of a PBL approach when it was introduced in a range of Vietnamese undergraduate courses. A group of eleven university teachers in two universities in the South of Vietnam were approached by the investigator and agreed to be involved in the study as individual cases for investigation. The teachers implemented a PBL approach to teaching in one of their undergraduate classes. In addition, 182 students from eleven different classes where a PBL approach was implemented agreed to discuss their perceptions of this shift in their learning approach. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with both the teachers and their students for the purpose of gathering data related to the impact of the PBL approach on the student and staff experiences. The study shows that Vietnamese teachers and students effectively adopted a PBL approach, and they commented on the worth of PBL for their teaching and learning. Both the teaching staff and students engaged willingly with the PBL approach. Although some assessment approaches were used that reflected the focus of PBL, there was still a heavy reliance on testing as the major form of assessment. The study is expected to contribute to Vietnamese education by providing an evaluation of the PBL implementation processes. The examination of all aspects of PBL implementation has the potential to provide educators with a critical analysis of the processes in order to support their understandings when making the decision to broaden the teaching and learning approaches currently used. Further, the study affirms the implementation of PBL as a significant contribution in preparing learners to negotiate complex demands of the 21st century.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258924 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Nguyen, Danh Duc, s3114573@student.rmit.edu.au |
| Publisher | RMIT University. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.rmit.edu.au/help/disclaimer, Copyright Danh Duc Nguyen |
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