The world around us - the technologies available, living and working conditions are changing dynamically. In order to function effectively, whether in everyday or professional life, people have to acquire a very important competence, that is the ability to adapt quickly to a changing reality. A solid foundation of the above capability is the ability to learn independently and to explore new phenomena. In other words, effective studying.
The research carried out over the years into the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods, such as for example lecturing, has proved that one-way transfer of knowledge between a lecturer and a student has ceased to be effective. This approach does not engage a student in a sufficient way and reduces him to the role of a passive listener. The above conclusions have led the birth of so called “inverted learning”, as part of which a student himself gains necessary information and he simultaneously learns to think critically, to associate and to analyse. Problem Based Learning is an example of such a method.
Students taught in this manner solve a specific, real-life problem which has been defined by a company or a different socio-economic entity. At the outset, however, they do not receive any theoretical support in the form of lectures or tutorials. The students are required to gain necessary knowledge to solve a problem on their own, and subsequently,
they need to learn to share this knowledge with their project group so that the whole group could benefit from it. As a consequence, young people develop communication and teamwork skills, in addition to the competences related to their field of study. The teacher is only a mentor supporting the group in their learning process, whose role is to provide the students with substantive feedback to assure them that their theses are correct. With PBL method you will be able to undertake new challenges easily and realize innovative projects both in your personal and professional life.
At the International Faculty of Engineering of Lodz University of Technology, PBL classes are conducted at the fourth semester of studies and are addressed to students of all study programmes. Students work in groups of 4-5 persons and the results and conclusions of their research are discussed during a public presentation. Both the tutor and other students in the project group evaluate the student’s work and his degree of involvement in particular tasks. You can receive a maximum of 10 EC TS credits for a PBL project.