Into The Future with PBL: A One Day Primer

Problem Based Learning in Law Enforcement

From 2000 to 2002, Gregory Saville, of AlterNation, and international PBL expert Gerry Cleveland helped developed the first ever national field training program based on PBL. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and coordinated by the Police Executive Research Forum under the direction of Chief Jerry Hoover and his officers in the Reno Police.

In the spring of 2002, field- testing of the program was completed. It was successfully piloted in Reno, NV, Lowell, MA, Savannah, GA, Colorado Springs, CO, Richmond, CA, and Charlotte, NC. It is now published by the COPS office on their website.

In 2003 Saville and Cleveland were hired by the COPS office to develop and teach a two week PBL Certification program in Instructor Development. That was published in 2004 and is now an annual, on-going certification courses conducted by Saville and Cleveland. Contact AlterNation for details.

These training programs inaugurated a new association for promoting PBL in policing. It is called the Police Society for Problem Based Learning (PSPBL). You can also visit www.pspbl.com for information about problem based learning in policing, networks of participants, and membership information.

How We Help You Change

We will coordinate PBL and PTO learning in your organization.

We will establish training courses, certification in PBL, and a rigorous implementation plan.

We have a network of certified instructors and PBL experts who will help you move forward in training and problem solving.

We will conduct a one-day primer course to orient your agency, leaders, officers, and community to the PBL method of moving forward.

A One Day Primer in PBL

Course Description

This one day orientation program introduces the new teaching and leadership strategy called Problem Based Learning. It covers basic elements of leadership through PBL and problem-solving. It introduces basic PBL strategies, such as teaching through the “ill-structured problem”, and through diagnosing and responding to crime and community disorder. It discusses leadership methods for organizing and training problem-solvers.

Who Should Attend?

• Law enforcement executives Police officers and supervisors
• Neighborhood organizers
• Civic officials
• Crime prevention specialists
• Police trainers

Course Contains

• Introduction to the basic strategies of PBL
• The obstacles that arise – confronting the myths
• Liability and ethics
• How to develop an effective PBL curriculum
• How to employ different learning styles and adult learning