{"id":1849,"date":"2024-12-17T17:42:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/health-psychology\/?p=1849"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:53:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:53:04","slug":"how-challenge-based-learning-can-transform-research-methods-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/health-psychology\/2024\/12\/17\/how-challenge-based-learning-can-transform-research-methods-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"How challenge-based learning can transform research methods classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In July, I attended the Autonomous University of Barcelona Summer School, where I took a course called Research Methods in Education: Hands on Experience.<\/a> I chose this course to sharpen my research skills for my PhD, which focuses on improving equity and the student experience in medical education. Until then, all my training in research methods had taken a traditional didactic approach, with the educator describing different research methods using slides. This course was different. The instructors invited us to learn by addressing a challenge through challenge-based learning (CBL).<\/p>\n

\"This

The challenge-based learning framework<\/p><\/div>\n

As a CBL learner, I worked in a group with other students to develop a sustainable solution to a societal problem. We collaborated with a local non-profit organisation, ASTE Barcelona<\/a>, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for older people living in care homes. The organisation presented us with a challenge: to develop sustainable, actionable strategies to reduce loneliness and isolation for elderly people. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Through working to address this challenge, I discovered how CBL can transform research methods learning:<\/p>\n

CBL makes the value of research methods apparent<\/strong><\/p>\n

As students, one of the questions we have when it comes to traditional research methods classes is \u201cWhy do I have to learn this?\u201d CBL showed \u2014 rather than told \u2014 <\/strong>us the value of what we were learning. We applied our knowledge right away and learned by doing<\/em> research, rather than learning about<\/em> research.<\/p>\n

CBL gives students a sense of social contribution<\/strong><\/p>\n

In contrast to problem-based learning (PBL), where educators bring pre-prepared problems with known solutions for students to solve, the challenges in CBL are larger in scope and based on real societal issues. Working to solve the problem of loneliness for older people was deeply rewarding as it gave me a sense of contributing to society.<\/p>\n

CBL promotes learner engagement and interpersonal skills<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was part of a research team of 5 from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, which helped me develop skills in teamwork and collaboration. Additionally, as students we had more control over our learning compared to traditional classrooms, which improved our confidence and self-efficacy. Increased agency brings increased responsibility; we felt a sense of ownership over our work.<\/p>\n

\"This

Using Trello to manage the research project<\/p><\/div>\n

Some challenges in CBL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the benefits of CBL, it is not without limitations. First, it was difficult to learn a research skill and execute it at the same time. As someone who grew up in a \u201clearn first, apply later\u201d educational culture, and someone with a tendency towards perfectionism, I found it challenging to adapt to CBL at first. On top of that, because the course was only 3 weeks long, the first time we did something was often also the last, which meant that the stakes were high. There were no practice runs.<\/p>\n

The other source of stress was ambiguity. Our research team did not know what the final product would look like, so we were faced with the ambiguity of creating a route to an unknown destination. This made self-monitoring our learning both more difficult and more important.<\/p>\n

What next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through my experience at the UAB summer school I learned that CBL can transform research methods classes by making the research more \u201creal\u201d for students and providing benefits beyond a gain in intellectual knowledge. I aim to incorporate these insights into my PhD by investigating how the principles of CBL can be applied in medical education to improve the student experience.<\/p>\n

About the author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karabo Sibasa is a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Manchester, based at the Manchester Centre for Health Psychology. Her PhD is on the experiences of medical students during their communication training with a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).<\/p>\n

Resources and links<\/strong><\/p>\n

Challenge-based learning: https:\/\/www.challengebasedlearning.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Research Methods Course: https:\/\/www.uab.cat\/web\/courses\/cursos-de-ciencies-socials\/research-methods-in-education-1345905134922.html<\/a><\/p>\n

ASTE Barcelona: https:\/\/www.astebcn.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Related<\/h1>\n

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