Metodologia d’aprenentatge fonamentada en el constructivisme on els alumnes són part activa que necessiten organitzar-se per resoldre el problema plantejat pel professor. Es parteix d’ un conjunt d'activitats i propostes de treball entorn una situació, escenari o problema, amb la finalitat que l'estudiant aprengui a buscar, analitzar i utilitzar la informació, a prendre decisions sobre les possibles solucions, adoptar-ne una com a definitiva i explicar-la als companys valorant la seva eficàcia. El professor guia i orienta el procés
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Terme anglès: Problem-based learning . L'aprenentatge basat en problemes o ABP és una metodologia d'aprenentatge activa centrada en l'estudiant, en la qual es planteja a un grup d'alumnes un problema real o fictici, un interrogant o una situació que guia la investigació i, per tant, l'obtenció del coneixement. Aquesta situació permet a l'estudiant desenvolupar hipòtesis explicatives i identificar necessitats d'aprenentatge que li permeten comprendre millor el problema i assolir els objectius d'aprenentatge establerts.
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Since it was first implemented more than thirty years ago at the medical school at McMaster University in Canada, problem-based learning (PBL) has become an increasingly popular approach in education. The sciences in general have begun to take it up and, more slowly, the humanities.
By introducing the PBL model into teaching languages for specific purposes (LSP), a shift can be made from the text-based approach for developing the traditional four language skills to a new way of teaching foreign languages. This model is especially appropriate for combining professional knowledge with the knowledge of a foreign language and thus for teaching languages across the curriculum. This approach also offers an opportunity for co-operation between the language teacher and the subject specialists, and thus for teaching languages for specific purposes across the curriculum.
The problem can take many forms – from a simple illustration or a single research question to a more elaborate description given in the text of a case study scenario. A small, self-directed group of students (teams of three to five students) explore the problem; the students identify what they already know and what they need to learn, then they search for knowledge in a systematic way using modern technology. In the last step the teams integrate their ideas and present a possible solution to the problem in their written reports and oral presentations.
Case studies that are used as a driving force for the PBL learning process, however, are made more relevant if they are designed together with a subject specialist, since language teachers of tertiary-level students cannot cope alone with the complexity of the various disciplines. A subject specialist not only acts as an adviser as to the content, but can also contribute to the design of the case study together with the language teacher. The roles of the subject specialist in this language learning process thus vary from primary expert on the content and purveyor of information, to case study codesigner. At the initial stage of the PBL process the subject specialist can be a facilitator, tutor or coach. Later, he/she acts as a provider of literature during the PBL process, and finally becomes the co-assessor of the two end products, namely, the written reports and group oral presentations. The role of the language teacher, on the other hand, is to further develop traditional language competencies and to help students develop a whole range of transferable skills for the working environment, leading to successful lifelong learning. (Fischer; Casey; Abrantes; Gigl; Lešnik, 2008: 12-13).