Grace Kelley's ID Portfolio

About Me

My name is Grace Kelley, and I am from and currently reside near Albany, NY. I received my bachelors degree in Childhood Education from SUNY Oneonta in 2025 and I am now a current masters student in the Educational Psychology & Methodology program at the University at Albany graduating in the spring of 2027.

I currently work as a substitute in local school districts, mainly in elementary classrooms. As a certified teacher in childhood education, I hope to continue my work in the education field after completing my master's degree. In my free time, I love to journal, read, go on walks, do puzzles, and spend time with my friends and family.

My Topic and Purpose

My mini-course will focus on designing effective problem-based learning (PBL) experiences that incorporate meaningful student collaboration. The course will explore how educators can create authentic, open-ended problems that encourage students to work together, engage in inquiry, apply their knowledge, and develop solutions. I chose this topic because I am interested in student-centered and collaborative approaches to learning and believe that PBL can provide students with meaningful opportunities to develop problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills. I am particularly interested in how intentional instructional design can make collaboration more purposeful and ensure that students are learning from one another rather than simply dividing up tasks.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

This mini-course will develop educators' knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to designing effective problem-based and collaborative learning. Learners will develop foundational knowledge of the characteristics and principles of these approaches, as well as skills for designing authentic problems, structuring productive group interactions, providing appropriate support, and incorporating assessment throughout the learning process. The course will also promote an appreciation for student-centered learning, inquiry, shared responsibility, and purposeful collaboration. Overall, learners will gain a foundation for making intentional instructional decisions when incorporating problem-based and collaborative learning into their teaching.

Needs Assessment

[The Educational Problem or Opportunity] Problem-based learning (PBL) provides opportunities for students to engage with authentic problems, apply knowledge, develop problem-solving skills, and take an active role in their learning. Collaborative learning can further support students by giving them opportunities to exchange ideas, work toward shared goals, and learn from one another. However, simply placing students into groups during a PBL activity does not necessarily result in meaningful collaboration. Educators may be familiar with PBL and group work but may benefit from additional support in intentionally designing experiences where collaboration is an integral part of how students investigate and address a problem. This creates an opportunity to provide educators with practical strategies for thoughtfully integrating collaboration into PBL.

[The Learners/Participants] The intended participants for this mini-course are educators who are interested in incorporating problem-based and collaborative learning into their instruction. Participants may have varying levels of experience with PBL, collaborative learning, and student-centered instruction. This course is designed to be applicable across all grade levels and content areas, with an emphasis on instructional design principles that can be adapted to different teaching contexts.

[Analysis of Gaps: Current Reality vs. Ideal] The current reality is that educators may already be familiar with PBL, collaborative learning, and group work and may have some experience incorporating these approaches in their instruction. However, they may need support in determining how to intentionally connect the two approaches. For example, educators may benefit from guidance on designing authentic problems that encourage students to work together, creating meaningful interdependence among group members, structuring productive interactions, providing appropriate scaffolding, and monitoring learning throughout the PBL process.

Ideally, educators would be able to intentionally design PBL experiences in which collaboration contributes directly to student learning. Students would have meaningful reasons to work together, individual responsibilities within a shared task, opportunities to exchange and build upon ideas, and appropriate support from the teacher as they work through the problem. The gap between the current and ideal conditions represents an opportunity to help educators further develop their ability to intentionally design collaborative PBL experiences.

[Intent Statement] This mini-course intends to support educators in developing the knowledge and skills needed to design problem-based learning experiences that incorporate meaningful collaboration intentionally. Participants will explore how to create authentic problems, structure opportunities for students to work independently, provide appropriate instructional support, and incorporate assessment and reflection throughout the learning process. By the end of the course, participants will have a framework they can use to design or strengthen collaborative PBL experiences within their own instructional settings.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

As discussed slightly in the previous section, the intended participants for this mini-course are educators of all grade levels and content areas, interested in incorporating problem-based and collaborative learning into their instruction. Participants may have varying levels of familiarity and experience with PBL, collaborative learning, and student-centered instruction. Some may have implemented PBL or group activities previously, while others may be exploring these approaches for the first time. This mini-course will build on participants' existing knowledge while providing practical opportunities to apply new ideas to their own instructional practices.

The instructional contexts will also vary among participants, including differences in class size, available time and resources, curriculum requirements, and student needs. Due to these differences, this mini-course will focus on adaptable design principles rather than one single approach to implementing PBL. Participants will be encouraged to consider how authentic problems, collaborative structures, scaffolding, and assessment can be adapted to fit their own instructional settings.

Performance-Based Objectives

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

• Identify key characteristics of effective problem-based learning and meaningful collaborative learning.

• Design an authentic, open-ended problem-based learning experience aligned with intended learning outcomes and that provides opportunities for student inquiry and application of knowledge.

• Develop collaborative structures that promote meaningful student interaction, shared responsibility, and individual accountability within a problem-based learning experience.

• Evaluate and revise a collaborative problem-based learning experience using criteria related to problem design, collaboration, instructional support, and assessment.

Task and Content Analysis

Before taking this course, learners should:

• Have a general understanding of instructional planning and learning objectives.
• Have basic knowledge of classroom instruction and student learning.
• Have an interest in incorporating student-centered learning approaches into their teaching.

Unit 1: Understanding PBL and Meaningful Collaboration

After this unit, learners will be able to:

• Identify the key characteristics and purpose of problem-based learning (PBL).

• Identify the characteristics of meaningful collaborative learning.

• Distinguish meaningful collaboration from simply assigning students to work in groups.

Unit 2: Designing an Authentic PBL Experience

After this unit, learners will be able to:

• Identify characteristics of an authentic, open-ended PBL problem.

• Connect a PBL problem to intended learning outcomes and student inquiry.

• Develop an authentic problem or driving question for their own instructional context.

Unit 3: Designing for Meaningful Collaboration

After this unit, learners will be able to:

• Identify characteristics of effective collaborative learning structures.

• Develop structures that promote shared responsibility, individual accountability, and meaningful student interaction.

• Identify ways teachers can scaffold and support collaboration during PBL.

Unit 4: Evaluating and Revising Collaborative PBL

After this unit, learners will be able to:

• Identify criteria for evaluating an effective collaborative PBL experience.

• Evaluate the alignment of learning outcomes, the problem, collaboration, and assessment.

• Revise their Collaborative PBL Blueprint based on evaluation and feedback.

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

• Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2014, February). Problem-based Learning: An Overview. ISLS NAPLES webinar
• Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16(3), 235–266. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EDPR.0000034022.16470.f3
• Shambaugh, R. N., & Magliaro, S. G. (1997). Mastering the possibilities: A process approach to instructional design. Allyn & Bacon