Progressive Intented Learning Outcomes for PBL (PILOs) - A Guide

PBL competence profile for Students

PBL supervision

The resources consists of 4 modules: One on approaches to supervision, one on collaboration in PBL (internally in the group and externally with other collaborators), one on management of conflicts in the group and one on the PBL life cycle from planning to exams. Each module is addressed to you as the supervisor, occasionally pointing out resources for the students to use. They are not structured in the same way, but generally we have strived to give short descriptions – in writings, in drawings, audios, videos and links to introduce the core concepts. An important guiding rule has been to offer specific, on the spot useful tools whatever the subject. Some of the modules offer exercises for you to complete. All of the modules offer references for further studies.



Problems in PBL

This open course is run by the Aalborg Centre for PBL in Engineering Sciences and Sustainability under the auspices of UNESCO. Please click on the module you want to follow. You can follow the course in chronological order, or click through depending on what you are most interested in.

Introduction to PBL

This online PBL course is an introductory course on Problem Based Learning (PBL) in Higher Education.

The popularity of Problem based learning has increased very much over the last couple of decades and nowadays the acronym ‘PBL’ is used - and misused – for a multitude of different teaching and learning approaches in many universities around the world. The intention of this course is to shed some light on and clarify some of the uncertainties that exist about what problem based learning is, how it can be implemented and how a change to PBL can be achieved.


PBL & Sustainability

This course is for you who want to integrate sustainability in engineering programmes or courses and want to learn more about how PBL and Sustainability can be interrelated in curriculum design and practice. Maybe you are about to teach engineers sustainability – and wonder how this can be done – or maybe you are a curricula designer in a PBL environment wanting to integrate sustainability in the curricula. In sum, the course is for you if you share an interest to develop engineering education for sustainability, which is a next step of engineering education for the future, as argued below by Anette Kolmos, Director of the Aalborg Centre for Problem Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability under the auspices of UNESCO (UCPBL).