Designing a Problem-Based Learning Intermediate Composition Course

Abstract

Abstract We used Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as a new pedagogy in an intermediate composition course. Our course design was based in constructivist pedagogical practices, which suggest that knowledge is co-created through social interactions. Although professors have much to offer students, students can also learn important lessons through interactions with their peers. PBL makes it easier to implement the social and collaborative aspects of writing. Students began with a traditional teacher-led essay and progressed to subsequent writing assignments representing a variety of genres produced while working in teams. All three problems required students to independently apply student learning outcomes by analysing the writing situation for the concepts of discourse community, genre, and rhetoric. Each assignment was assessed using a rubric aligned with the course student learning outcomes. Students also completed self-assessments after each assignment. PBL allowed students to apply what they were learning in the classroom to contexts beyond the classroom in an immediate and relevant way. This article describes how PBL can enhance the development of an intermediate composition course. Keywords: compositioncourse designpedagogyproblem-based learning Notes A full description of the problems entitled "Examining and Practicing Genre and Rhetoric" can be found at the University of Delaware PBL Clearinghouse at https://primus.nss.udel.edu/Pbl/.