The Impacts of Implementing Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Mathematics: A Review of Literature

Mathematics is a subject that relates to the real world and is applied in various fields. However, the teaching and learning of mathematics is more procedural and requires drill and practice. For this reason, students of mathematics become passive receivers who are unable to think mathematically. The literature indicates that Problem-based learning(PBL) is a student-centered approach that is able to stimulate students’ thinking. Accordingly, the present study investigates the implementation of PBL at school level and the impact of learning mathematics through PBL in secondary schools. The analysis showed that PBL gave positive impact on the secondary school students in mathematics and the approach was found to be applicable in various knowledge domains in mathematics. However, teacher’s role should be explored concurrently with the usage of ICT and the duration of PBL implementation should be considered based on the curriculum objectives, especially in algebra. The study concludes that PBL is able to enhance students’ thinking and soft skill, which are necessary to fullfill the requirement of education in the twenty-first century.