PBL-Test: A model to evaluate the maturity of teaching processes in a PBL approach

The increasing application of student-centered teaching approaches to solve real problems, driven by the market´s demand for professionals with better skills, has prompted the use of PBL in different areas, including in Computing. However, since this represents a paradigm shift in education, its implementation is not always well understood, which adversely affects its effectiveness. Within this context, this paper puts forward a model for assessing the maturity of teaching processes under the PBL approach, the PBL-Test, with a view to identifying points for improvement. The concept of maturity is defined in terms of teaching processes adhering to PBL principles, taken from an analysis of the following authors: Savery & Duffy (1995), Barrows (2001) Peterson (1997) and Alessio (2004). With a view to validating the applicability of the model, an empirical study was conducted by applying the PBL-Test to three skills in the Computing area. Results showed that although the model has shown it needs further enhancement, it has already been possible to identify improvements in PBL teaching processes that clearly affect the effectiveness of the approach.