Abstract:

The study involved identifying the impact of introducing Problem Based Learning (PBL) into Islamic education at Year 11 level in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This teaching method has been devised to encourage small group, holistic learning and uses actual problem-solving samples to enable the learning outcomes to be achieved. This method is new to the education system in Bahrain and is being trialled to test its effectiveness and hopeful integration with the country’s current secondary teaching methods. One of its main strengths is to help students to take control of their own learning.

My research concentrated on the secondary level of Islamic education within a female class environment using both qualitative and quantitative data to assess the effectiveness of introducing PBL. The data was gathered through observing classwork before the introduction of PBL and during PBL exercises themselves, as well as holding interviews with teachers, learners and curriculum specialists to gain their feedback.

My initial findings show that learners have appreciated the introduction of PBL and that they can now manage their own learning. They did find though that the introduction was challenging, especially adapting to the new learning style, although they did feel well supported by the teachers and others involved in implementing the change. People generally felt positive that PBL will be a very useful additional learning option and its effectiveness will grow with input from all concerned.

Keywords:

Problem-based learning, Islamic Education-Student center Learning, Teacher as facilitator.