The attitudes of teacher educators to the use of problem based learning

The video triggers approach

Abstract

The approach of problem-based learning (PBL) possesses numerous differences when compared with the conventional ways of learning. However, few of the studies seem to tackle the underlying assumptions of PBL and relate it to the local context when it applies to different groups of learners in a particular discipline, such as education professionals in Hong Kong. This paper will, therefore, analyse the teacher educators’ attitudes to the five newly developed video triggers on PBL, which were developed by education professionals at the Hong Kong Institute of Education to serve as exemplars for the teaching staff who are not familiar with the problem-based approach. The study intends to find out the teacher educators’ perceptions of the use of media-based educational triggers in this teacher education institute, and what their attitudes are to this particular educational product’s potential technological development in fostering student-centred learning in general and problem-based learning in particular, with the ultimate goal of enhancing and improving the quality of teacher training. The results show that pre-requisite training can exert a significant influence on the adoption of PBL by the Chinese teachers and students.