Resource-based learning

Resource-based learning (RBL) is an approach to pedagogy in which actively involves students, teachers and resource providers in the application of a range of resources (both human and non-human) in the learning process. It is claimed that this approach offers a flexible structure to learning such that the learner can develop as a learner according to their "varied interests, experiences, learning styles, needs and ability levels". The RBL approach focuses on the resources available to the learners and how the learners interact with these resources. This leads to an interest in the uses of technology to support and develop a learning environment.

Background

The exigencies of the Second World War impelled the training of large numbers of both military and civilian staff, and in the United Kingdom this led to the adoption of B. F. Skinner's operant conditioning as a strategy for achieving the requisite behaviour modification. By the 1950s and 1960s these stimulus-response methods were introduced into education, but were seen as being to mechanical. The response was a move to more cognitivist and constructivist approaches. In 1966 the Nuffield Foundation introduced the Resources for Learning project. This involved the teacher introducing a problem, the pupils formulating an hypothesis and then the pupils designing and carrying out an experiment.