Examining the classroom culture of problem based learning

The concept of classroom culture has been characterised as both the invisible and visible aspects of the beliefs, values and meanings of the classroom participants; the values they give loyalty to; and those practices that govern what is seen as permissible in the classroom. Typically, a university classroom culture is based on the cultural 'baggage' of the teacher/tutor and/or the student participants, predominantly drawing from the mores of the dominant cultural group. Conscious choices of how to shape the classroom culture are rarely made or explicitly negotiated. In particular, few opportunities exist for overseas educated students to negotiate their cultural values into the environment in which they are participating.

The extent to which a classroom culture supports, or limits, the learning of individuals varies profoundly, depending on the degree of negotiation that is permitted between its individual participants. In a multi-cultural classroom, where students from non-dominant cultures are not afforded opportunities, or do not take the opportunity to participate in building the classroom culture, learning opportunities may be seriously limited.

The problem based learning (PBL) model uses small group collaboration with student autonomy and participation as central features in the group process. I argue that PBL provides multiple opportunities for building a reconstructed classroom climate that draws directly on the diverse cultural contributions of the students, empowering them through the shared development of an inclusive classroom, while simultaneously maximising support for their learning needs.

Problem based learning was introduced to the School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne in 1999. Overseas educated students who had completed the majority of their primary and secondary education overseas comprised 14% of the first year cohort of undergraduate physiotherapy students. Participant observation of PBL tutorials and interviews with tutors and students were used to highlight aspects of the PBL classroom culture which were open to negotiation, and the extent to which overseas educated students felt they were able to participate in the process of building the classroom culture. The initial results of this investigation suggests that PBL offers opportunities for creating classroom cultures that are responsive to the cultural diversity of its participants.