In Problem-Based Learning, participants work in groups to: explore a problem, determine what they need to know to understand the problem, identify sources they can use, formulate hypotheses, and begin designing responses to the “problem” they’ve been presented.

In the PBL workshop Bill Williams and I conducted in Setúbal, there were three teams working to address the “problem” of how to integrate PBL into one of the institutions’ engineering programs.

These photos show the groups working together.  Participants in this workshop included engineering students, engineering teachers, and members of the central administration.

The room set up worked pretty well…

…but would have been even better if the groups could have met in circles…

…instead of rows.

The rows works for groups of four, but not so well for five.

The participants here were highly engaged.

And they came up with some excellent ideas.