Nurturing Problem-Finding Skills in Graduate Students through Problem Based Learning Approaches

Abstract

The present university education system has been designed to make graduate students good problem solvers such that they can contribute to society through the skills acquired in the graduate schools. With focus on developing critical thinking and reasoning to solve local and global problems such programs have gained immense popularity among teachers and professors in schools and universities and termed as "Problem-Based-Learning" (PBL). However, there has been very few programs that encourage students to become better Problem finders. This study is based on our own experience of teaching problem-finding as an important skill for a special graduate program in university education and our findings on its implication on students ability to comprehend real world problems.