Abstract:

The shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning requires teachers to turn to methods involving students in new ways and motivating active learning. Problem-based learning (PBL) as an educational method has its origins in Canada, at School of Medicine of McMaster University. The method was introduced in the curriculum of preparing physicians. Successful implementation of the method led to its spread at other universities and other disciplines.

The new demands of the 21st century, e.g. the new skills, such as the 4Cs - creativity, communication, critical-thinking and collaboration can be best trained by employing the method of PBL. What is more, the application of PBL in one discipline went further and was used as an interdisciplinary PBL.

This paper presents the experience of integrating of an interdisciplinary problem-based learning in the subject of "Sustainable Human Development" course at Kaunas University of Technology. The interdisciplinarity aspect there was implemented by involving in PBL activities students of natural and social sciences and they contributed with their perspectives to the solution of a problem. The scenario for PBL was created based on the analysis of the data from United Nations Human Development Reports (http://hdr.undp.org/en/data). Aim of the PBL scenario is to develop ability of finding, comparing and systemizing and visualising data; draw data- based conclusions for deeper understanding of interdependencies between the tendencies of social development and to be able to relate human development indicators with Sustainable development goals.

This paper will present a full scenario of PBL called “Human development indicators and human development goals 2020” which was prepared using PBL didactical approach.

The essence of the scenario is to solve practical problem using data from Human development report (HDR). Students are provided with the imagined situation that they are prime ministers of specific countries, and they are going to the general assembly of the United Nations, where the distribution of international humanitarian aid for the next year will be discussed. They need to identify priorities for funding, based on the data and the relation of HD indicators to Sustainable development goals.

Scenario foresees the active role or teacher during seminar and also provides detailed evaluation criteria. In addition, the examples from students’ works will be presented and discussed. The scenario, presented in this paper can be used in different courses related to the sustainable development, social welfare, social policy and similar.

Keywords:

Problem based learning, sustainable development.