The PBL 2025 Workshop is hosted by the Institute for Transforming University Education (ITUE) at the University of Delaware. The workshop facilitation team is comprised of highly effective university faculty who have successfully integrated and refined Problem-Based Learning experiences into their own courses. (more details coming soon).
Dr. Philip Duker is the Director of the Institute for Transforming University Education (ITUE) at the University of Delaware. He is an avid proponent of problem-based learning and has also published pedagogical research on: standards-based grading, just-in-time teaching, flipped pedagogy, and using clickers to capture dynamic thinking. His current pedagogical research interests include: ways to foster curiosity in the classroom and the role of scaffolding and backwards design in the creation of PBL problems. Dr. Duker remains active as a classroom instructor and continues to pursue research in music theory around repetition and temporality. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Michigan where he was the James A. Winn Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities.
Dr. Agnes Ly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware. She is an advocate for the use of mixed pedagogies and tools, such as problem-based learning, team-based learning, and clickers, to tailor and enhance student engagement and learning. Dr. Ly’s current pedagogical interests are in developing methods to engage and support students taking large-enrollment introductory courses and the use of technology to support student learning both inside and outside of the classroom. She holds a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Lydia Timmins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a professional television journalist to the University. She worked in large and small-market TV stations in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States, spending 14 years at Philadelphia’s NBC10 as a producer, writer and digital editor. She is a strong proponent of learning through experiencing and doing. She uses traditional problem-based learning strategies, as well as client-based projects and other ways in which to engage students in learning and doing. Dr. Timmins earned a PhD in Mass Media and Communication from Temple University in 2010 and a MJ (Master’s of Journalism) from Temple in 2001.