Bringing Collaborative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) into a Flipped

Classroom: A New Strategy for Teaching Writing

M. Aries Tauﬁq

, Marhamah

and Rahmi Eka Putri

Universitas Negeri Padang, Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Padang, Indonesia

Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia

Keywords:

Collaborative Learning, Problem Based Learning, Flipped Classroom.

Abstract:

This study is conceptual research. It designs the integration of Collaborative Problem Based Learning model

with collaborative learning model implemented in ﬂipped classroom for teaching writing at university. The

strength of this model lies on the fact that it is the student-centered approach. Enriching the learning envi-

ronment with the use of technologies can also offer students better learning opportunities. One method for

incorporating technology like videos is the ﬂipped classroom, which brings an innovative perspective to tra-

ditional lectures. This study discusses about the model of Collaborative Problem Based Learning which is

implemented into a ﬂipped classroom. The ﬂipped classroom involves blended learning - a combination of

face-to-face in-class learning and distance learning. It is a perfect choice as the model encourages students’

active participation, promotes support from teacher and peers to handle homework and allows more free time

in class. The ﬂipped classroom model seems to be more favorable in higher education than in K-12 education.

This is because the model lends itself to active learning.

1 INTRODUCTION

Writing is found to be difﬁcult skill by students. It is

due to the fact that the process of writing covers many

aspects such as content, organization,vocabulary, lan-

guage use, and mechanics. According to National

Writing Project (2003), the complexity of writing

causes teaching writing is very challenging task for

English teachers in education ﬁeld. Besides, this com-

plexity may affect the students’ attitude on writing.

Considering the problems encountered by students,

Harmer (Duch et al., 2001) states that teachers should

ﬁnd the appropriate methods and methodological be-

liefs to lead the teaching practice.

For this reason, it is suggested for teachers to ﬁnd

other methods to teach writing. The use of problem

based learning (PBL) can be a solution to stimulate

students to develop their writing skill. By utilizing

this strategy, the students should be active to manage

their own way to learn. The instructor will be the fa-

cilitator for giving problems to be solved and possible

learning sources to be used. Gallagher and Reynolds

(Gallagher, 1997) assert that one of the characteristics

of PBL is the use of student-centered approach and

teachers are facilitators who serve as the initial stimu-

lus and framework for learning. In addition, enriching

the learning environment with the use of technologies

can also offer students better learning opportunities.

Video is one of effective technological tools for teach-

ing when used properly (Hartsell and Yuen, 2006).

This model attempts to utilize the use of Problem

Based Learning which is combined with collabora-

tive learning for teaching writing at university. The

strength of this model lies on the fact that it is the

student-centered approach. Since the students are the

center of learning, they feel free to study the top-

ics they are interested in and manage the way how

to study including identifying their learning needs,

planning classes, leading class discussions, and as-

sessing their own work and their classmates’ work.

In addition, students become more effective problem-

solvers and self-directed learners while the lecturers

become a tutor or cognitive coach who models in-

quiry strategies, guides exploration and help students

clarify and pursue their research questions. This arti-

cle discusses about the model of Collaborative Prob-

lem Based Learning which is implemented into a

ﬂipped classroom. The ﬂipped classroom involves

blended learning - a combination of face-to-face in-

class learning and distance learning. It is a perfect

choice as the model encourages students’ active par-

ticipation, promotes support from teacher and peers to

Tauﬁq, M., Marhamah, . and Putri, R.

Bringing Collaborative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) into a Flipped Classroom: A New Strategy for Teaching Writing.

DOI: 10.5220/0009159403790384

In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Social, Economy, Education and Humanity (ICoSEEH 2019) - Sustainable Development in Developing Country for Facing Industrial

Revolution 4.0, pages 379-384

ISBN: 978-989-758-464-0

379

handle homework and allows more free time in class.

The ﬂipped classroom model seems to be more favor-

able in higher education than in K-12 education. This

is because the model lends itself to active learning.

2 RELATED THEORIES

2.1 Problem Based Learning

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a total approach to

education that challenges students to learn through an

active engagement in real life problems. Today, PBL

is used extensively in elementary, secondary and ter-

tiary education institutions worldwide, and has also

been adopted in various ﬁelds of professional train-

ing, such as nursing, engineering and architecture,

among many others (Ioa, ). The key characteristics

of PBL are that it involves team work and commu-

nication skills, a problem-solving, critical, analytical

and creative capacity, as well as individual research.

As (Duch et al., 2001) declare, problem-based

learning is one educational strategy that helps stu-

dents build the reasoning and communication skills

necessary for success today. Actually PBL derives

from a theory which suggests that for effective acqui-

sition of knowledge, learners need to be stimulated

to restructure information they already know within a

realistic context, to gain new knowledge, and to then

elaborate on the new information they have learned

(Kilroy, 2004). Therefore, problem-based learning

can be implemented to assist the students to increase

their understanding or cognitive competence toward

content subjects written in English. By applying this

strategy, both students’ understanding and communi-

cation skills can be constructed.

In brief, the PBL strategy starts the session with

the students’ activities by giving problems/questions

related to the topics that should be discussed in

groups. Students classify the questions that they can

answer and they cannot answer at that time. The

teacher facilitates the students with content materials

to help them answer the questions. Then the students

share the tasks that will be done individually or in

groups. They discuss all the problems together un-

til the tasks are completed. If they get problems they

can ask the teacher to verify their answers. Then the

teacher invites each group to report their answers to

the other groups. The other groups can give comment,

questions, or any other addition toward the report of

the presenting group.

2.2 Collaborative Learning

Collaborative can be interpreted as collaboration or

collaboration. (Laal and Laal, 2012) deﬁne collabo-

rative learning as a teaching and learning approach

that involves a group of students to work together

to solve problems, completing tasks, and creating a

product. Meanwhile, Smith and MacGregor (Laal and

Laal, 2012) deﬁne collaborative learning as a term

that incorporates various educational approaches that

involve intellectual relations between students, or be-

tween students and teachers together. Generally stu-

dents work in groups of two or more members, seek

for comprehension, solutions, understanding, or cre-

ating a product. Whereas, according to (Dillenbourg,

1999), Collaborative Problem Based Learning is a

collaboration performed by two or more people who

have the same goal, to solve a particular problem.

This learning involves the cooperation process among

students to solve problems as the main process to con-

struct their own knowledge, supported by the initial

knowledge the students possess.

(Gunawan, 2006) Classiﬁes ﬁve important ele-

ments in the process of collaborative learning. They

are:

• A sense of togetherness.

• There are mutually supportive interactions among

group members.

• There is a sense of responsibility individually and

in groups for the success of the learning process.

• Good interpersonal communication skills in a

small group.

There is a process of reﬂection on their functions

and abilities to work together as a group.

2.3 Flipped Classroom

The ﬂipped classroom intentionally shifts instruction

to a learner-centered model in which time in the class-

room is used to explore topics in greater depth and

create meaningful learning opportunities while stu-

dents are initially introduced to new topics outside

of the classroom. The ﬂipped classroom involves

blended learning, a combination of face-to-face in-

class learning and distance learning. Students will

beneﬁt from participating in class group discussion

and engaging in online video lessons and assignment

that must be completed additionally outside of the

class time. Comment that the ﬂipped classroom ap-

proach “is an integration of face-to-face and online

learning experiences—not a layering of one on top of

the other”. The ﬂipped classroom approach shifts the

responsibility from teacher to the students.

ICoSEEH 2019 - The Second International Conference on Social, Economy, Education, and Humanity

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According to (Bergmann and Sams, 2012), a

ﬂipped classroom can be described as a setting where

that “which is traditionally done in class is now done

at home, and that which is traditionally done as home-

work is now completed in class” (p.13). In other

words, the sequence is inverted. Meanwhile, accord-

ing to Lage, Platt, and Treglia (Lage et al., 2000), “In-

verting the classroom means that events that have tra-

ditionally taken place inside the classroom now take

place outside the classroom and vice versa” (p. 32).

The ﬂipped classroom helps foster learner autonomy

through online video lessons and class activities at

campus. Reynard suggests that classroom lessons be

used as scaffolding rather than using it as the core

instruction as in traditional classes (Reynard, 2007).

Teacher should spend class time, a very signiﬁcant

part of learning process focusing on dialog practice,

working in groups or demonstrations.

A ﬂipped classroom frees up class time for teach-

ers and presents learning choices to students rather

than just informing them in a sit-and-listen format.

With this model, teachers “. . . can deliver this instruc-

tion by recording and narrating screencasts of work

they do on their computers, creating videos of them-

selves teaching, or curating video lessons from trusted

Internet sites”

2.4 The Learning Model

The learning model is a plan or a pattern that is used

as a guide in planning classroom learning. The model

is a general pattern of learning behavior applied to

achieve the expected competencies/learning objec-

tives. Learning model is a pattern of interaction be-

tween students and teachers in the classroom that in-

volves approaches, strategies, methods, learning tech-

niques applied in the implementation of teaching and

learning activities. A learning model not only deter-

mines what the teacher must do, but it also involves

the stages, the principles of the reaction of the teacher

and students and the supporting system required.

Arends (Agus, 2009) states that a learning model

refers to the approach including the learning objec-

tives, the stages in learning activities, the learning en-

vironment and classroom management applied in the

classroom. Meanwhile, according to Joice & Weil

(Isjoni, 2013), a learning model is a pattern or plan

planned in such a way and used to compile the cur-

riculum, organize the subject materials, and give in-

structions to the instructor in his class. Whereas (Is-

tarani, 50) asserts that learning model is the entire se-

ries of presentation of teaching material covering all

aspects before, while and after the learning performed

by the teacher and all related facilities that are used

directly or indirectly in the learning process.

Students are actively involved in an effective and

meaningful learning they are the center of learning ac-

tivities and the formation of competencies and charac-

ters. The learning model is very closely related to the

learning style of students and the teacher’s teaching

style. The teacher’s efforts in teaching students are

very crucial to achieve the success of planned learn-

ing goals. Therefore, the selection of various meth-

ods, strategies, techniques and learning models is the

main thing.

Related to this, (Rusman and Pd, 2012) suggests

six characteristics of the learning model. First, the

learning model is based on educational and learning

theory proposed by experts. After that, the learning

model has a speciﬁc educational mission or purpose.

Then, a learning model can be applied as a guide for

improving learning activities in the classroom; for ex-

ample, the synectic model is designed to improve cre-

ativity in language learning. Next, the fourth char-

acteristic is that the learning model has parts of the

model called sequences of learning steps (syntax),

reaction principles, social systems, and support sys-

tems. Furthermore, the learning model has an impact

as a result of the application of the model. Finally, the

teacher can make teaching preparations based on the

learning model used. Moreover, Joyce et al. (2015)

state that a model has at least (a) the sequence of steps

of learning (syntax), (b) the principles of reaction that

explain how the teacher evaluates students and how to

respond to what students do in the learning process,

form between teachers and students in learning or the

role of teachers and students and their relationships

and the types of rules that must be established/ im-

plemented, (d) support systems that refer to the con-

ditions needed to support the implementation of the

learning model, including facilities and infrastructure

such as tools and materials, learning environment, as

well as teacher and student readiness, (e) effects of

the model (instructional and accompaniment effect).

3 FINDING AND DISCUSSION

Based on the literature review and preliminary re-

search, the researchers design a teaching model that

suitable for teaching writing which integrate collabo-

rative and problem based learning. This model will

be applied in ﬂipped classroom.

Collaborative problem based learning model is a

learning model beginning with a problem that can be

solved in groups. The guidelines for applying collab-

orative problem based learning are divided into three

Bringing Collaborative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) into a Flipped Classroom: A New Strategy for Teaching Writing

381

categories: guidelines for teachers, students and guid-

ance for both teachers and students.

a. Guidelines for teachers

• The teacher as a facilitator.

• Create a collaborative learning environment.

• Formulate the focus of the problem.

• Give an explanation when asked by students.

b. Guidelines for students

• Determine how to use information and various

sources obtained to solve problems.

• Determine and take into account the time alloca-

tion for individuals and groups.

• Formulate the focus of the problem.

• Give an explanation when asked by students.

c. Guidelines for both teachers and students

• Teachers and students collaborate to determine

learning issues and objects.

• Teachers and students gather the necessary learn-

ing resources.

• The teacher evaluates students, both individually

and in groups.

In this model, the steps of collaborative problem

based learning are as follows:

• Learning begins with giving challenging prob-

lems.

• Students are given the opportunity to identify and

design solutions to these problems individually

before they learn in groups.

• Students learn in small groups of 4-6 people to

clarify their understanding, criticize friends’ ideas

in their groups, make conjectures, choose reso-

lution strategies, and solve problems given, by

clashing arguments.

• Students solve the problem given by the teacher

individually.

• Students present the results of solving the prob-

lems obtained

Collaborative Problem Based Learning settings

are performed in small study groups, in which each

group consists of 3-5 students. Before assigning the

students to work in group, the teacher ﬁrst gives the

problem to be solved. Then, the teacher asks stu-

dents to work in group to solve problems given by

the teacher. In this model, the intended collaborative

problem based learning is a small group based learn-

ing model by providing small group problems to be

solved and revealing the results of their work to other.

The steps applied are:

• Each student is given individual problems.

• The teacher makes a small group of 2-5 students.

• After individual problems are given, students can

work in groups with the knowledge gained from

individual problems.

• Students solve the problems in groups

• The results of group work are submitted to other

groups

• Other groups give responses.

Based on the description above, the steps taken are

students completing the problem individually,after

students ﬁnish the problem in groups, then one of

the group representatives presents the results of the

group’s work in front of the class to another group.

3.1 Model of Teaching

The model of teaching is described below:

3.1.1 Syntax

• Planning

Planning stage is the ﬁrst activity. In this stage,

the lecturer prepares online materials such as video

and asks students to watch the video and do the tasks

that follow. After that, in the classroom, 3 to 5 stu-

dents work in a group and start planning their writ-

ing by discussing the problem given by the lecturer.

At this stage, the students discuss the problem, then,

generate the solution of the problem. After that, the

possible solutions are listed and constructed into sin-

gle sentences. In short, at planning stage, the learning

starts with constructing ideas from the problems pro-

vided. After that, the students work collaboratively

to discuss the possible solutions for the problem. In

this process, the students might work individually ﬁrst

before coming to the discussion to seek the possible

solutions.

• Drafting

At drafting stage, the students write their ﬁrst draft

of writing in a group. They generate the listed pos-

sible solutions they have discussed at the previous

stage. At this stage, students work together to con-

struct their writing. They might discuss how to ar-

range the sentences they have constructed to make

it united and discuss the appropriate conjunctions to

complete the writing product.

• Revising and Editing

After the drafting stage, the next stages are revis-

ing and editing stages. At revising stage, the students

check the other group’s writing and give feedback. It

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382

is done by managing the students to do peer correc-

tion. The writer and the corrector check the writing

product, then, the corrector gives feedback. This is

the activities done for revising stage. After that, edit-

ing stage begins after the writer gets some feedback

from the corrector. The writers go back to their ini-

tial group and they write the second draft based on

feedback given by other group’s members. Next, they

do the second peer correction with different group.

The activities are performed like the previous revising

stage. In short, the two stages,revising and editing, are

done simultaneously. These stages end when the lec-

turer check the students’ writing product and give ﬁ-

nal feedback related to the structure of the text to each

group before they present their writing in front of the

class. However, the lecturer needs to observe the stu-

dents during the activities and give assistance when

possible. At last, the students present their writing

and stick their ﬁnal draft in front of the class.

• Evaluating

The last stage is evaluation. In evaluating stage,

the lecturer gives ﬁnal correction and revises students’

writing. After that, the lecturer concludes the lesson

they discuss that day.

3.1.2 Social System

The social system describes the role and the relation-

ship between the lecturer and the students. The ﬁg-

ure the represents the model shows the relationship

between the lecturer and the students. Before the

planning stage, the lecturer prepares some topics or

problems to be discussed by the students. It is the

stage when the lecturer makes sure that the students

are ready to involve in learning activities by activat-

ing students’ schemata, developing it, and makes sure

that the students know the purpose of the learning that

day. The next stage is the time for students to be more

active by discussing the problems and planning their

writing from the problems they discuss. The lecturer’s

responsibility is only to monitor students’ activity and

make sure that the students know what they are do-

ing. The lecturer might give assistance when needed.

Since the students are already starting to plan their

writing, the role of the students emerges at this stage.

After the planning stage, the students’ responsibil-

ity is increasing but the lecturer’s is decreasing. This

is because students are expected to write their ﬁrst

draft of writing by generating the solution of the prob-

lem they have discussed at the previous stage. More-

over, at this stage, the lecturer should minimize assist-

ing help for the students. This happens until the last

editing stage. Finally, at the last stage which is evalu-

ation, the lecturer becomes the center of the learning

process since it the lecturer’s responsibility to correct

and students’ writing product. In addition, the lecturer

will also conclude the topic discussed on that day.

3.1.3 Principles of Reaction

The principles of reaction tell the lecturer how to in-

volve students and how to respond to what the stu-

dents do. It is described in almost all of the stages of

teaching. At the planning stage, the lecturer involves

the students by discussing the problem and the solu-

tions that they are going to write about. It aims to ac-

tivate students’ background knowledge related to the

topic for the lesson. During other stages, the lecturer

is expected to respond to the students when they have

difﬁculties in understanding and generating the ideas

for their writing.

3.1.4 Support System

Support system describes the supporting conditions

required to implement the model. In this model, the

students need support system like various books and

reference materials to help them ﬁnd the solutions of

the problem given by the lecturer. If it is possible, the

lecturer might allow the students to use the internet

service to ﬁnd related sources to the topic.

3.1.5 Effects of the Model

As seen in the ﬁgure previously, this model, like other

models, result in two types of effects: instructional

and subsidiary. Instructional effects are the direct

effects of the model resulted from the contents and

skills on which the activities are based. Since the

model provides problem based learning with the fo-

cus of teaching writing collaboratively, it is expected

that the students are able to understand the stages in

writing, to produce a good writing product, and in the

end, eventually to have better language proﬁciency es-

pecially in writing. After that, the subsidiary effects

are the indirect effects of the model. Since this model

applies collaborative learning in which the students

are expected to work collaboratively, there is a possi-

bility that the students will be able to build their com-

munication and critical thinking skills.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The problem based learning approach with col-

laborative learning strategies is actually a model that

combines problem based learning with collaborative

learning. Group discussion and brainstorming be-

come the focus to be taught in this model. The distinct

Bringing Collaborative Problem Based Learning (CPBL) into a Flipped Classroom: A New Strategy for Teaching Writing

383

feature of this model is that at the end of the process,

there is evaluating stage for the lecturer to correct stu-

dents writing and conclude the points of the topic of

the lesson discussed in the classroom. Hence, it is ex-

pected that when the lecturer implements this model,

which combined two kinds of learning approaches

and strategies, in the writing class, the students will

be able to write with better comprehension and com-

petence since they are taught how to write systemat-

ically and they are provided with several activities to

practice how to write.

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