As I was doing a little research into problem based learning, also know as PBL, I quickly found myself watching videos and reading articles about project based learning, also PBL.  Soon enough I lost track of whether or not I was trying to learn about ProblemBL or ProjectBL.  I began to wonder whether or not this was a common issue and what really was the difference between the two.  I actually found this very helpful chart from Edutopia that helps to spell it all out for me.

As you can see there are a lot of similarities between the two teaching methods. Both strategies seem to engage students in independent and collaborative problem solving skills. They actually seem to be more alike than different, I think the changes come in the actual problem that is being looked at.  As an art teacher I see a lot more potential for the arts being a part of project based learning rather than problem based learning.  With project based learning there is a final product that is often constructed some how.  This may not always be the case with problem based learning because it is more often than not linked to a single subject matter.  I could see problem based learning being easily applicable to a design class, where real design problems are presented but with project based learning we wouldn’t be limited to only design problems, we would have a larger array of artistic avenues to present our findings because it would often be interdisciplinary.

Project based learning actually reminds me of STEAM (better know as STEM). STEM is project based learning that incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering and Math into one problem. STEAM integrates the arts into that same problem. Often times STEAM can lend itself to functional design problems but it is not limited to that.  I once taught at a school where we helped the kids to present their STEM findings through artistic expressions.  Our presentations involved art installations, dance, song, light shows and instrumental performances.  Often times several artistic elements were combined to help present students findings.  It was exciting to see these types of problems be presented in such artistic and expressive ways.

 STEAM isn’t the only application of project based learning that is possible for art teachers though. Art is a project driven subject, the challenge for the teacher is to find the real world problems to apply. I think this could be the challenge for many teachers.  Finding the problems.  We need to be finding the problems with the students.  That is where these projects need to start and I’m not so sure that problem based learning is helping the kids to come up with the problem.  I think it is helping in many other areas but it is also important the the problem presented art of interest to the student and that they are real problems. I suppose that STEAM always helping kids come up with the problems either.  Usually the problem is presented and the students try to solve it.

How can we help the students to find the problems? This is where I look at art from another lens.  That is one of the things I love about the arts is how versatile it is.  From one artistic lens we can use art to help us solve problems like in the cases of functional design and STEM.  With another artistic lens we can use art to help point out the problems.  Artist are asking hard questions all the time and expressing their findings and wonderings about the world. Maybe we need to start looking to artists to help find the problems more often.  Contemporary artist are showing us the problems in their own way.  We need to be observing first in order to start any problem solving. Observation then enquiry, as an artist that is one thing I know for certain.

Here is a contemporary piece done by the Spanish Art collective Luzinterruptus exactly what I’m talking about.  Observing, wondering and showing us problems our world.  This could be a good place to insert a few questions.