The implementation of problem-based learning to foster pre-service teachers' critical thinking in education for sustainable development

Abstract

The emergence of unprecedented environmental problems and sustainability concerns since the industrial revolution has risen and prevail in modern civilisation. These environmental challenges require critical reconsideration of all our actions, which includes rethinking the role of education to inform and transform societies. The efficient training of pre-service teachers plays a paramount role in the accomplishment of the desired outcomes of sustainable development. Delivering pre-service teachers who are able to think critically about the environmental problems around us and who are encouraged to act as change agents in their communities, should be a priority of higher education institutions. Constructivist teaching and learning strategies can be applied to enhance critical thinking and other soft skills required by pre-service teachers in the 21st century. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an example of active learning that underwrites the principles of social constructivism and allows pre-service teachers to collaborate, critically evaluate, consider and solve a given environmental problem in PBL groups. The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of PBL in education for sustainable development, could foster the development of pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills. This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods research design in which quantitative and qualitative research methods were implemented in a pragmatic way to explore the following three aims: investigating the ways in which PBL can be implemented in education for sustainable development; determining the pre-service teachers’ experience of PBL in education for sustainable development; and exploring the development of the pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills after the PBL intervention in education for sustainable development. In order to achieve the research aims, PBL was implemented in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) module (6 credits) for one semester (12 weeks). The quantitative and qualitative results indicated that PBL was perceived as a positive experience by most of the pre-service teachers and can be successfully implemented in the teaching and learning of education for sustainable development. The quantitative results from the WG³CTA test instrument indicated that the pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills have not improved after one semester of implementing PBL in Education for Sustainable Development, however, the qualitative results indicated that the pre-service teachers perceived that some aspects of their critical thinking skills have improved.