The Problem-Oriented Project Work (PPL) Alternative in Self-Directed Higher Education

Abstract This chapter introduces an approach to higher education developed and practiced over four decades at Roskilde University in Denmark. Known as the Roskilde Model, the approach is characterized by (1) a special type of self-directed learning (SDL), named “problem-oriented project learning” (PPL); (2) a way of organizing undergraduate education into broad interdisciplinary programs; and (3) an interdisciplinary profile where double-major graduate programs allow students to design their own academic and professional profiles. The chapter first explains similarities and differences between PPL and some related concepts of SDL: problem-based learning (PBL), inquiry-based learning, and project learning. Secondly, it outlines the origins and development of Roskilde University and of PPL. Thirdly, it introduces and discusses the building blocks and workings of PPL: problem-orientation, interdisciplinarity, the exemplary principle, participant direction, and group-based project work. Fourthly, it describes how studies are organized so as to realize PPL in practice. And finally, it outlines the challenges that current educational policy poses to practicing an educational alternative.