Resumen de Problem-Based Learning: Providing Students the Opportunity to Solve Real-World Industry Problems in the Safety of the Classroom

Joseph M. LaLopa, James T McDonald

• The heart and soul of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is the problem. Conceptualizing problems that can be digested by students is another matter altogether; it takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to write just one. Worse still, one is hard pressed to find a bank of problems that can be referenced to cut the time it takes to write them unless teaching a health- or sciences-related course. This article describes a technique that was developed to condense the time it was taking to write problems for an undergraduate hospitality and tourism sales course. The technique involves inviting industry professionals into the classroom to personally share a sales-related problem that their business is experiencing. Student teams then develop their proposals and submit them to the client who then ranks (for grading purposes) and returns them to the students. This technique has been a tremendous benefit to students because it gives them a chance to work on real-world, industry-related problems in the safety of the classroom.