Abstract:

Problem-based learning is an instructional model developed in response to a number of weaknesses of traditional teaching and is designed as a concept that increases the efficiency of the educational process, provides students with successful learning strategies and promotes their independence in learning, enhances the maintenance and applicability of knowledge and pays attention to individual learner differences. In problem-based learning the content or a learning situation is logically structured to facilitate the self-directed learning and solving smaller or larger units of instruction in acquiring new knowledge. In other words, in applying problem-based learning, the emphasis is not upon the content of teaching and the transfer of ready-made knowledge but on the development of skills, methods and techniques of facing and solving problems. In addition, problem-based learning aims to promote learners’ initiative and raise awareness of various problem situations within the learners’ in-school and out-of-school environment.

Teachers’ professional and didactic training in the application of problem-based learning, as well as their positive attitudes towards this instructional model, appear to be critical to the implementation of this innovative teaching practice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the attitudes of primary school biology teachers towards the intensity of the use of problem-based learning, its pedagogical and didactic value and the obstacles teachers face in implementing this model in biology classes. Such an aim implied the use of descriptive research and a survey technique. The research instrument – a five-point scale questionnaire was distributed to biology teachers who had attended a professional development training in innovate teaching models. The sample included 70 biology teachers from 25 primary schools on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the Republic of Serbia. The survey findings showed that the majority of teachers were familiar with the concept of problem-based learning and its application in the biology classroom. Their experiences with the application of the model were quite positive as, according to their responses, it contributed to greater motivation for biology learning, interdisciplinarity of the learning content, independence in learning and the development of higher-order thinking skills. The respondents also noted that preparation for problem-based classes was more challenging and time consuming than in traditional teaching. However, based on the reported intensity of use, the respondents indicated readiness to implement changes in their teaching practices.

Keywords:

Problem-based learning, biology teaching, biology teacher attitudes, primary education.