The PBL 2023 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.  

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. Adebanjo Oriade utilizes his background in computational condensed matter physics to engage in the challenge of designing, implementing, and assessing learning tools for science educational purposes. Much like moments in simulations of nanomagnetic films in his research, tools for student-centered learning present challenges in the spatial, temporal, and competing energies/objectives dimensions of implementation. These tools include project-specific rubrics that serve the needs of both students and graduate teaching assistants, design of group tasks, micro-experiment PBL, and development of ten new laboratory exercises grounded in the 5Es instructional model.

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.

Dr. Alenka Hlousek-Radojcic is an Associate Professor of Biology, a pragmatic science educator practitioner, and a Fulbright Scholar. She is a plant biologist who embraces the wonders of microbes. Dr. Alenka is a co-developer of the innovative Introductory Biology integrated with General Chemistry curricula. The interdisciplinary nature of the two courses incorporates collaborative activities that promote learning of the selected biological and chemical concepts within diverse contexts and multiple iterations. Her students improve their communication, metacognitive, and systems thinking skills while improving an understanding of biological concepts. Dr. Alenka mentors graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants, honors college teaching fellows, and preceptors. She coaches undergraduate students in, what often is, their first scientific research experience. Dr. Alenka is a recipient of 2015 Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, and 2021 Honors College Excellence in Teaching Award. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from the Michigan State University.