Brexit as a Breeding Ground for Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

This chapter theorizes a proposal for applying the study of Brexit as a pedagogical strategy in an European Studies (ES) bachelor program, as a means to activate theoretical knowledge for different disciplinary and thematic fields of study about the European Union. The proposal uses the problem-based learning (PBL) approach as a pedagogical methodology and the bachelor of ES at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Coimbra as a case study to rehearse teaching innovation. It is based on a theoretical part, conciliating PBL as a pedagogical tool in social sciences and humanities with the exceptionalism of Brexit within the European integration theories and the study of European policies to activate and question prior scientific knowledge, and on a survey to bachelor’s students and alumni on the pertinence of PBL and of Brexit as an empirical element for scientific knowledge in ES. As a result, specific proposals to use Brexit in PBL experiences in different disciplinary areas of ES are made, paving the way for a range of teaching and learning opportunities and challenges released by Brexit to make progress in the ES pedagogical framework.

Citation

Sebastião, D. and Dias-Trindade, S. (2021), "Brexit as a Breeding Ground for Problem-Based Learning", Visvizi, A., Field, M. and Pachocka, M. (Ed.) Teaching the EU: Fostering Knowledge and Understanding in the Brexit Age (Emerald Studies in Higher Education, Innovation and Technology), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 43-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-274-120211004