Modeling the Geography Class through Problem-Based Teaching: a Case Study from Novi Sad, Serbia

Abstract

The idea of problem-based teaching, i.e. learning through solving problems, is not a new one, but has been fairly neglected in the teaching process. The aim of this research is to consider the possibility of applying this learning model in teaching geography in primary and grammar schools. This teaching model was proposed for the presentation of the teaching unit Australia and Oceania, in the framework of the thematic unit Political/Geographic, Demographic and Economic/Geographic Features of Certain Parts of the World. The model implies group work. The expected successful outcome of the applied teaching model has been verified by the results of a survey and the scores achieved in the knowledge test. The study contains the entire course of the experimental teaching of the unit Australia and Oceania by applying problem-based teaching, and presents and analyzes the results achieved. The classes were modelled by relying on Hill-Slater′s model. A t-test was used for the statistical analysis of data in order to test the hypothesis on differences in the arithmetic mean. The choice and application of the statistical mathematical procedure are determined by the nature of the phenomenon which is the subject of this research. The software packages Mathematica and Excel were used in order to statistically analyze data and to draw tables and graphs