Metodología de evaluación de ofertas

The application of competency-focused pedagogic approaches in educational settings is well-established by a number of group-based, self- directed learning approaches prompted within school teaching such as problem-based learning (PBL), which is an educational approach that emphasises practical experience in supporting learning (Kilpatrick 1921; Dewey 1938). PBL places the learner at the centre of the educational activity where a problem stimulates information retrieval and the application of reasoning mechanisms (Dochy et al. 2003). First introduced in medical teaching in 1958 in the McMaster University, Canada, it has been widely implemented in medical and nursing education and continues to gain popularity in other contexts (Barrows and Kelson 1995; Barrows 2000; Torp and Sage 2002) and subjects (Hmelo et al. 1995; Hmelo-Silver 2002; Torp and Sage 2002).

In broad terms PBL describes an instructional method that uses problem scenarios as contexts for students to learn problem solving skills and acquire knowledge (Albanese and Mitchell 1993; Barrows and Kelson 1995). As a flexible approach to learning that is applicable across contexts, PBL has been conceptualised in different ways (Savin-Baden 2000; Savin-Baden and Wilkie 2004). Some insist that an approach can only be termed PBL if it draws on specific components and has been integrated across the curriculum or programme of study. Others regard PBL as a technique teachers can draw on as and when required, using it as an isolated activity within lectures or tutorials. Yet others believe that PBL is developed out of an adaptation of the original PBL process based on a set of underlying principles (Barrows and Tamblyn 1980). Rather than using subjects or classifying content into modules, PBL draws on problems as central components around which the lesson content is organised. Learners decide on the knowledge that is required to resolve the problems rather than work towards answering a specific set of pre-determined questions (Savin-Baden and Wilkie 2004).

Considering PBL within this latter perspective, a problem in a school context might ask pupils to make recommendations about how the school’s meal service could be improved. The problem scenario encourages pupils to identify relevant facts they need to consider such as pricing, costs, payment and serving processes, nutritional aspects, menu choices and likely uptake. This leads to the generation of hypotheses and the identification of knowledge deficiencies. Next, pupils independently search for and acquire knowledge that is later applied and abstracted to resolve the initial problem presented in the scenario. Whilst gathering information from the internet, the school library and various individuals about money and nutrition, pupils develop and apply transferable skills through mathematical problem-solving and budgeting, communication and negotiation. The final component of PBL, evaluation and reflection, facilitates further identification of facts and generation of hypotheses. For example, pupils might consider the influence of school meals on health (Barrows 2000; Torp and Sage 2002; Hmelo- Silver 2004).

Although the evidence base is limited, it has been suggested that PBL could have a positive effect on younger learners such as pre-school children (Neal Boyce et al. 1997; Zumbach et al. 2004) or primary and middle-school pupils (Fogarty 1997). A comparison of student groups receiving PBL teaching, traditional lecture-based and a combination of traditional and PBL teaching has found that understanding and knowledge retention was enhanced through PBL (Dods 1997), whilst De Corte, Verschaffel et al. (1998) have found that PBL students performed better in mathematical problem solving and recall tests.

In order to draw out key components of PBL approaches with school aged learners and their impact, a literature review has been conducted. The search strategy as well as a table with details about the studies reviewed can be found in Appendix 2. The papers included in the review have suggested that PBL-based approaches to teaching school-aged learners can have a positive impact on their personal and academic development (Simons and Klein 2007). PBL has been found to promote 10th graders’ intrinsic goal orientation, critical thinking, self-regulation, motivation and collaborative learning (Sungur and Tekkaya 2006), improve 4th graders’ knowledge about the lesson topic and problem-solving abilities and promote intrinsic motivation (Zumbach et al. 2004). PBL has also been found to enhance 5th – 7th graders’ understanding (Azer 2009) and to increased self-confidence (Wang et al. 2001). It has also been found to support 8th graders’ interest and motivation to engage in independent work, as well as overall academic performance and self-efficacy (Cerezo 2004).

Comparing the PBL-based pedagogic approaches reported in the six papers to the key components of a traditional PBL approach described by Hmelo- Silver (2004), some variations in the extent to which PBL was implemented with school aged learners have been identified. All six studies have used group work and group discussions to identify learning goals on the basis of a problem scenario, independent task- oriented learning or information retrieval, the application of that new knowledge to the problem-scenario and the presence of one or more facilitators. Three of the papers reviewed have

described the use of self- or peer evaluation or self-reflection (Wang et al. 2001; Zumbach et al. 2004; Sungur et al. 2006). Two papers have explicitly referred to students’ active generation of hypotheses as part of the PBL process (Cerezo 2004; Sungur et al. 2006). However, all approaches appeared to have had a general orientation towards a pedagogic practice that actively involves learners in the educational activity, allowed them to take ownership of their work, and indeed help them develop individual agency within their own learning process. The findings from this literature review have highlighted the potential of competency-focused pedagogy, such as the application of PBL-based elements to enhance learners’ personal and social development (Jerzembek and Murphy 2012). It also appears that such competency-focused pedagogic approaches may have the potential to enhance school-based health education by promoting goal setting, self- monitoring and self-reactive influences (Bandura 2005). Such self- regulatory behaviours might contribute to generating sustainable behaviour change.

This suggestion might offer a helpful response to the aforementioned key barriers to health education effectiveness (McCuaig et al. 2012). However, it has also become evident that the implementation of such competency- focused pedagogic approaches in practice is limited by a number of policy challenges, in particular curricular pressures characteristic of Western Education systems (Whitty et al. 1994b; Bernstein 1999; Au 2008). It is therefore important to examine implementation processes in detail to identify influences that can promote or hinder the integration of such pedagogic approaches in the implementation of school-based health education interventions or related policies.