Responding to calls for more future-oriented teaching and learning, an increasing number of institutions of higher education have recently implemented challenge-based learning (CBL). Through work on open-ended and real-life challenges, CBL aims to stimulate students to take the lead in their own learning, acquire and apply knowledge relevant for…

Active learning methodologies, such as flipped classroom (FC), generate a higher level of student engagement, greater dynamism in learning and more significant interactions with course content. Some other active methodologies used in the academic environment are problem-based learning (PBL) and case study (CS). There are few studies that analyse…

Problem-based learning is often characterised as an approach encompassing interdisciplinary learning; however, little attention has been explicitly paid to what a claim of interdisciplinary problem-based learning means in practice. Even less attention has been given to address the consequences of interdisciplinary problem-based learning for…

This qualitative study investigated the complex social aspects of communication required for students to participate effectively in Problem-Based Learning and explored how these dynamics are managed. The longitudinal study of a group of first-year undergraduates examined interactions using Rapport Management as a framework to analyse communication…

Investigations of the relationships between contexts in which learning occurs and students' behaviours, cognitions and motivations may further our understanding of how instruction is related to students' development as self-regulated learners. In this study, student self-regulated learning strategies in problem-based learning and project-based…

This article reports a study which sought to evaluate the different learning strategies adopted by students when accessing virtual learning environment (VLE)-hosted resources because, if student achievement corresponds to the learning strategy that is adopted whilst accessing VLE resources, directed tasks can be put in place that will encourage…

This research explores the experiences of a group of academics learning to teach with problem-based learning (PBL) and how a community of practice (COP) supported this transition. An action-research project evaluated both PBL experiences and group processes. Teachers were enthusiastic about PBL but experienced a variety of problems during the…

There is an increasing acceptance in the education literature and in classroom settings for "best practice" to be linked with verbal clarification of knowledge and reasoning, ideally in collaborative contexts where students construct both group and individual knowledge. Problem-based learning (PBL) is one such classroom context in which…

This article reports on a small-scale research project (n = 56) that investigated student educational gain. For the purposes of this study, gain is defined as an increase in the score that students obtain for pre/post intervention tests. Students received authentic exposure to the process via a web-delivered problem-based scenario. The students…

A great deal of value is placed on student research within universities, exemplified by the prominent role of the dissertation or extended written work at the end of many programmes, and the more general benefits of embedding research-based learning into a curriculum in order to develop higher-order learning. This article reports on a…