Using Rubrics To Facilitate Students' Development Of Problem Solving Skills

We developed a series of problem-based laboratories in chemical engineering designed to engage students as active participants in their own learning. The goals of the problem-based learning (PBL) format include helping students develop problem-solving skills, improving students’ own understanding of how they learn, developing a life-long learning perspective, and acquiring the ability to work on interdisciplinary teams. To assist students and faculty in assessing these learning objectives, we developed rubrics to assess teamwork, written and oral reports, and the problem-solving process. In this paper we describe the implementation of PBL in engineering curricula and examine the use of rubrics to support the development of students’ problem-solving skills.