If students are going to develop reasoning and thinking skills, use their mathematical knowledge, and recognize the relevance of mathematics in their lives, they need to experience mathematics in meaningful ways. Only then will their mathematical skills be transferrable to all other parts of their lives. To promote such flexible mathematical…

This paper introduces a problem-based learning (PBL) microprocessor application course designed according to the following strategies: 1) hands-on training without having a formal laboratory, and 2) intense student-centered cooperative learning through an ill-structured problem. PBL was adopted as the core educational technique of the course to…

In order to develop the evaluative skills necessary for successful performance of design, a senior, Geotechnical Engineering course was revised to immerse students in the complexity of the design process utilising a project-based learning (PBL) approach to instruction. The student-centred approach stresses self-directed group learning, which…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology placing primary emphasis on students solving realistic problems in a team-oriented environment. In this article, authors discuss using PBL to integrate a language for specific purposes (LSP) track into an undergraduate biological engineering curriculum as a way to prepare students for an…

Engineering is the science, art, and business of designing and getting things done; engineers are required to make things happen through interpersonal relationships. At Monash University (Australia), a new course, Management for Engineers, was set up in 1990 to encourage a more holistic approach to the process of engineering. The course included…

This article describes problem-based learning (PBL) at the subsystem level, namely, the application of PBL in a project management course that empowers student teams to solve problems in nonprofit organizations. Faculty members teaching in project-based disciplines can employ the authors' approach to introduce PBL and document its effectiveness,…

This article focuses on an extended, interactive, collaborative project in a junior/senior-level business communication class. The main goal of the project is to address a difficult task central to many college-level writing courses: teaching students to consider and to write for specific audiences other than the teacher. A second goal is to focus…

This paper discusses the implications of using a problem-centered, activity-based approach to teaching technology that addresses everyday teaching and learning problems. An overview of the course, "Technology for Teachers," is provided, and the following factors that contribute to the teaching method are outlined: creating a context for…

Describes the conversion of a conventional didactic course in dental anatomy at the University of Queensland (Australia) into a course in problem-based learning and the resulting effects on learners' autonomy over the first three years of the new course, noting the extent of achievement of course goals, student achievement, and learning style…

This paper discusses the author's personal experiences in developing and implementing a problem-based college mathematics course for liberal arts majors. This project was initiated in response to the realization that most students are dependent on "patterning" learning algorithms and have no expectation that self-initiated thinking is a…