Foundation of PBL

Sonke Ahrens, author of How to Take Smart Notes, describes the importance of having ideas from various facets interact which makes it "easier to make sense of new information. That makes it easier not only to learn and remember, but also to retrieve the information later in the amount and context it is needed" (Ahrens 55). Ahrens supports the very foundation that the Arete Academy and PBL in general is built upon. Nothing in life exists in a vacuum. Everything is connected in some form or other. It is sometimes difficult to find those connections, but with practice, it becomes easier and easier. The beautiful thing about finding connections along with explaining them to and sharing them with other people is the large number of ways people find to connect concepts. The discussion which follows the initial individual finding of the connection builds the network of concepts which makes it easier to connect future ideas. It is using the schema like a velcro ball upon which further ideas can stick and connect with each other.