7 Common CBL Questions

What types of challenges can I formulate for my CBL course?

In CBL, a challenge is a specific real-world, unsolved issue or a scenario around which the course content revolves. These challenges do not have a single predefined sub-set of problems, processes or solutions, so students learn to define and address their own problem. Besides, the challenges should be open and not overly detailed as students need to get accustomed to ill-defined questions to spark inquiry process rather than make them jump to finding fast solutions.

In contrast to working with a very specific single company problem, or solving a specific disciplinary engineering problem that requires new design, challenges in CBL are more overarching, multidisciplinary and are connected to themes of global importance, for example to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

There is a lot of flexibility in the ways you can define a challenge for your course and make it fit your learning objectives. To get started:

• Take a look at the challenges examples from your colleagues and successful CBL courses.
• Check an already existing challenge portfolio by TU/e innovation Space and connect with relevant colleagues from there.  
• If you already have a broad challenge idea but need to sharpen it, check this template to help you guide your challenge formulation process.

Some teachers wonder how to prevent students from not doing their best in a CBL course. Adam Watkins has a lot of experience as a teacher and shares his insights in a candid interview.

Another lecturer, Clemens, teaches CBL with large groups of students. During our conversation, Clemens explains how he has set up his course so that students cannot sit back and relax during a CBL course.

Worried about whether students will learn enough during CBL?

Federico, Antal and Clemens have no problem with this. During their CBL course, there is always a teacher who assesses the knowledge progress of the group of students. Teachers have various areas of expertise to ensure that all knowledge is secured. The courses work with tutors to guide and assess students on their soft skills.

Clemens explains in his interview that they work with short feedback loops to keep students on track. Read the interview and case study.

Federico and Antal have developed a dashboard that allows both tutors and students to closely monitor their progress. Read the interview and case study.

In CBL you can use the same assessment methods as in lecture-based courses. You can read more about this on the Assessment page.

In his interview with us, Headteacher Clemens explains how he continues to assess large groups of students throughout their learning process. You can read more about his assessment format and rubrics in the case study.

For the course Sociophysics 1, 2 and 3, you can read how progress was measured during the course and how outcomes were measured at the end. Including a sample rubric.

Using learning technologies and tools might noticeably enhance student learning experience and practically support their self-directed learning journey within a CBL course. Learning tools and technologies could be integrated not only for boosting student engagement or providing blended element to their learning (see OLE pages for the overview of those), but help facilitate team work, assignments tracking and more holistic assessment.

At TU/e, your colleagues have been developing such tools tailor-made for their courses. Below are just some examples, that are being updated as we speak. If you are interested to re-use or adapt the technologies, reach out to the responsible lecturer.

• Tracking student progress – CBL dashboard (reference inside the article)
• Showcasing system and project documentation tool for student - Demoplatform
• Digital assessment platform for CBL
• Flexible experimental platforms for CBL
• MRI simulator to facilitate CBL
• Modularisation and digitalisation for CBL

How about a learning technology for teachers designing courses themselves? Check out the “CBL-Design Tool”.

CBL might involve a need for student teams to develop virtual and physical prototypes. There are TU/e recourses you might be able to use: TU/e innovation Space facilities, advice from Equipment & Prototype Center and support with setting Living Labs at TU/e.

Your colleagues have used and adapted various facilities to support their CBL courses as well: take a look at the examples below and feel free to reach out to responsible teachers.

• Adapting THz research lab for CBL
• Building a facility – a greenhouse in collaboration
• Coherent labs for photonic integration track
• Lab on a chip microdevices

Tutors (or team coaches) are important players in your students CBL journey. Effective tutors ensure that the students navigate the complexity of the challenge and its open-endedness in a manageable way. Similarly, tutors support team dynamics, van provide “just in time” interventions and motivate the students in difficult learning moments. Tutors are critical in assessing students’ individual contributions to the teamwork in CBL.

Therefore, it is recommended to ensure your tutors get training beforehand. TEACH provides tutor training, go to Tutor Training Information Page to read more.

In addition, tutors need separate instructions per course, that clearly states what exactly is expected of them. Click below for examples on tutor onboarding and instructions from your colleagues.

• Tutor manual (provided as a material for Coaching & Tutoring course 4WM00 at Mechanical Engineering Department.
• Manual on coaching students in E3 Challenge 2 / Co-creation by TEACH.

Our CBL group size planner suggests that there is one tutor per group, where the tutor can four groups per tutor. Depending on the number of students in your course, you might have sizable tutor group as well. It is important to navigate the tutors on the way and have regular check ins.  Ensure to think about the planning of those check-ins and the time investment needed (e.g. bi-weekly) while developing Implementation plan.

It is recommended to plan a separate evaluation and feedback meeting with tutors, that focusses on collecting their experiences, as tutors are also learners in the CBL process. 

Stay tuned for more concrete examples and instruments from your colleagues - we are on it!