Theory Into Practice

I've been digging into the reading for the PBL course and am faced with some questions. The first reading is from Problem-Based Learning by Daniel L. Kain. In his preface, he discusses how, as a teaching professional, one's work extends beyond the classroom walls. The question I am faced with initially is...

• How does Kain encourage you to think beyond classroom walls and become a reflective professional?

Well, the audience for Kain's book is K-8 teachers, but his encouragement still applies to my level at the community college. He starts off by saying his book offers no answers, but rather "a framework to learn how to raise questions about issues that are important to your work as a teacher" (xiii). He says that such a framework will help one go about finding the answers. His book seems to both be about problem-based learning and use a problem-based learning approach to help the reader engage in the process itself. Kain's use of PBL in the book is not merely to present an opportunity to experience the concept in an exercise, but rather to offer readers the opportunity to shift their way of thinking about and engaging in their professional lives as teachers. This has far-reaching implications--going beyond classroom walls to include real-world consideration of policies, curriculum, politics, school structures. As teachers, we encounter problems all the time--challenges to contend with. PBL can not only help prepare our students for the real-world, it can help us as professionals operate within it.