Conveying technical content in a curriculum using problem based learning

Problem Based Learnin g (PBL) is a radically different way to organise a course. Instead of an ins.%ructorwho transnu'ts information to students who then apply -what they learnt in tightly-d&ned tasks for assessment, in PBL the students work in groups on authentic ill-defined tasks, us-mgresources (iiclmli.ng manuals, examples, mentors) when they find that help is needed. The PBL style of education is particularly suited to develop-mg students' skill in software engineering and progr amming, as well as generic Skius in communication, cooperation and problem solving. For these reasons the University of Sydney has revised the iirst year Computer Science subjects to use PBL. This paper analyses the implications for the technical content covered in these courses. In particular, we show that PBL need not lead to the neglect of topics such as analysis of algorithms, recursion, computer orgauisation, and ethics. MTeillustrate our techniques with details of the tasks students are offered and the assessment scheme.