PROBLEM BASED LEARNING: A PRELIMINARY IMPLEMENTATION IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

The main idea in this article is to share the researcher's experience in the preliminary implementation of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in one of the Malaysian polytechnic. Since, PBL has always been accepted as an effective learning method; an initiative has been taken to implement PBL in one of the electrical engineering subject in technical education programme. In this study, a total of 18 first semester students were divided into four heterogeneous groups. They were required to solve a PBL problem that aimed for two topics regarding the electrical circuit analysis. An observation of the two weeks of PBL preliminary implementation reveals that several processes in PBL require a careful consideration particularly during the facilitation process. Students were passively discussing in the group and tending to solve problem individually. However, the survey indicated that students were intrinsically motivated to learn within PBL environment. The conclusion remark follows with some suggestion for future PBL implementation in Malaysian technical education context.