Cultivating Collaboration: Reflections on Introducing Problem-Based Learning in the ‘Wicked World’ of Contemporary Higher Education

In this article we reflect on our approach to embedding a problem-based learning, or PBL, module into the first year of Sociology and Criminology programmes at the University of York. ‘Investigating Social Problems’ is a core module that uses PBL principles to support our students to develop collaborative work and independent learning skills. We explore our experiences of developing the module, focusing on the value of collaboration as both a method and outcome of employing PBL principles in a Sociology classroom. We situate our experiences within contemporary debates about teaching and learning in a ‘post’-pandemic and increasingly neoliberalised higher education context, and a broader cost-of-living crisis, in which ‘plummeting’ classroom attendance and a more fragmented student experience are seen to both reflect and foster a negative attitude to group work among students.