Conference sessions in Learning approaches

Problem-based learning: opportunities for economics education

Problem-based Learning (PBL) is a method of teaching which emphasises the role of students as active participants in learning through encouraging participants to respond to stimulus scenarios, identify ‘problems’ to be solved, and allowing them to identify the solution under their own guidance. Having first been used in teaching medicine where ‘problems’ are very literal, it is increasingly being adopted to teach a variety of arts, humanities, and social science subjects. By stepping away from a didactic teaching approach, students cease to be passive passengers in learning and instead learn how to engage in research, build communication and teamwork skills, and (crucially) it aligns learning with the type of real-world problem-solving expected of graduates. This interactive talk will outline the basics of the approach, with examples from teaching and suggestions for adapting economics courses.

• Presentation slides

The map is not the territory: How to make economics relevant