The Common Problems Project An Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged, Problem-Based Pedagogy
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Published:
Jun 23, 2022
Keywords:
pedagogy, problem-based learning, higher education, interdisciplinary education
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Abstract
The Common Problems Project (CP2) is an interdisciplinary, problem-based pedagogy that was launched in 2015 by four partner colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system (Cortland, Oneonta, Oswego, and Plattsburgh). Since its inception, 100 faculty have participated in CP2 and integrated the pedagogy into 134 courses to implement 47 collaborative projects. CP2 is based on a simple but innovative approach in which instructors from different disciplines identify a real-world problem they have in common. They pair their relevant existing classes so that students can work in interdisciplinary teams to propose solutions to the problem. This paper describes CP2 and its theoretical underpinnings, provides the results of a three-pronged approach to assessment, and outlines recommendations for faculty and institutions who may be interested in replicating CP2 on their campuses. CP2 model holds promise for a future of collaborative problem solving as a pedagogical approach, and, as such, this article will be of interest to a wide range of scholars, practitioners, educators, and administrators.
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Liszka, J., Card, R., Clark, P., Coleman, K. J., Leibensperger, E., Mattingly, B., McGuire, M., Nollenberg, J., Vanslyke-Briggs, K., & Wilson, L. (2022). The Common Problems Project: An Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged, Problem-Based Pedagogy. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v22i2.31645
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Case Studies
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Ash, S. L., Clayton, P. H., & Atkinson, M. P. (2005). Integrating reflection and assessment to capture and improve student learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 11(2), 49-60.
Barrows, H., and Kelson, A. C. (1995). Problem-Based learning in secondary education and the
problem-based learning institute. Monograph 1. Problem-Based Learning Institute.
Barrows, H. S., & Tamblyn, R. M. (1980). Problem-based learning: An approach to medical
Education. Springer.
Bransford, J., & Stein, B. S. (1984). The IDEAL problem solver: A guide for improving
thinking, learning, and creativity. WH Freeman.
Coleman, K., & Danks, C. (2016). Service-learning: A tool to create social capital for collaborative natural resource management. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 6(3), 470-478.
Coleman, K., Murdoch, J., Rayback, S., Seidl, A., & Wallin, K. (2017). Students' understanding of sustainability and climate change across linked service-learning courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, 65(2), 158-167.
Edelkamp, S. (2012). Heuristic search. Elsevier.
Frensch, P. and Funke, J. (1995). Complex problem solving: The European
perspective. Larence Erlbaum.
Furco, A. (1996). Service-learning: A balanced approach to experiential education. Expanding boundaries: Serving and learning. Corporation for National Service, 2-6.
Gervich, C. and Devine, M. (2018). Civic-minded filmmaking in the Common Problem classroom. American Association of Colleges and Universities. General Education and Assessment: Foundations for Democracy. Philadelphia, Feb. 15-17.
Hmelo-Silver, C. (2004). Problem-Based learning: what and how do students learn?
Educational Psychology Review 16(3), 235-266.
Howe, C., Coleman. K., Hamshaw, K. and Westdijk, K. (2014). Student development and service-learning: A three-phased model for course design. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. 2(1), 44-62.
Isaak, J., Devine, M., Gervich, C. and Gottschall, R. (2017). Are we experienced? Reflections on the SUNY Experiential Learning Mandate. Journal of Experiential Education 41(1), 23-38.
Jacob, W. J. (2015). Interdisciplinary trends in higher education. Palgrave communications, 1(1), 1-5.
Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Toward a design theory of problem solving. Educational Technology: Research & Development, 48(4), 63–85.
Kadas, S. & Edlund, E. (2019). Visual storytelling of scientific data: collaborations between art and physics in the college classroom. SUNY Student Success Summit, Oct. 28-30, Albany, NY.
Kadas, S., & Edlund, E. M. (2020). Visual storytelling of scientific data: collaborations between physics and graphic design in the college classroom. The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE, 1(2), 2.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Klaassen, R. G. (2018). Interdisciplinary education: a case study. European Journal of Engineering Education, 43(6), 842-859.
Klein, G. (1998). Sources of power: How people make decisions. MIT Press.
Kuh, G. D. (2008). Excerpt from high-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities, 14(3), 28-29.
Ledford, H. (2015). How to solve the world's biggest problems. Nature News, 525(7569), 308
Loyens, S.M., Jones, S. H., Mikkers, J. and Van Gog, T. (2015). Problem-based learning as a facilitator of conceptual change. Learning and Instruction 38, 34-42.
Newell, W. 2010. Educating for a complex world: Integrative learning and interdisciplinary studies. Liberal Education, 96, 6– 11.
Newell, A. and Simon, H. (1972). Human problem solving. Prentice Hall.
Nilson, L. B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass.
Pourshanazari, A., Roohbakhsh, A., Khazaei, M. and Tajadini, H. Comparing the long-term retention of a physiology course for medical students with the traditional and problem-based learning. Advances in Health Science Education, 18(1), 91-97.
Schmidt, B. (2018, August 23). The humanities are in crisis. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/08/the-humanities-face-a-crisisof-confidence/567565/
Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., ... & Grummer, J. A. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6476-6483.
Yew, E. and Schmidt, H.G. (2009). Evidence for constructive, self-regulatory, and collaborative processes in problem-based learning. Advances in Health Science Education 14(2), 251-273.