To address specific difficulties with self-directed problem-based learning in a large-group pharmacy course, one teacher experimented with use of structured dialogs with small groups of students to provide support, emphasize process, explore concepts, and discuss assessment. Course structure, classroom experiences, and success in addressing the…

Small-group, self-directed, problem-based learning can be conducted with or without a faculty tutor. Groups without a tutor are trained to manage problem solving, change, group process, critical thinking, and independent learning skills. Processing issues are very different for tutorless and tutored groups; some issues are experienced by both.…

Reports results of an investigation of the effectiveness of a prototype virtual problem-based learning (VPBL) exercise delivered via the World Wide Web to first year medical students. Compares the VPBL and a text-based version of the same exercise on students' achievement and examines instructional design issues including learner control and…

Examines four teachers implementing a project-based curriculum (Air Quality module) on a web-based platform (ActiveInk Network) in four very different settings. Discusses each case across two themes by examining how the project-level question was contextualized to meet local needs and the cultural context that surrounded the implementation of the…

Evaluation of problem-based learning tutorials with 70 medical students found that, when tutors had expertise in the clinical cases studied, student groups generated twice as many learning issues, and issues were three times more congruent with the case objectives. Additionally, groups with expert tutors spent more time overcoming identified…

A study investigated the attitudes of 35 graduate nursing students toward the self-directed learning incorporated into a problem-based curriculum at an Australian university. Results show substantial and highly significant increases in student perceptions of themselves as self-directed learners and in perceptions of the value of self-directed…

Reports a study of motivation among 36 University of Hong Kong first-year students during their first exposure to problem-based learning, with data drawn from student journals, pre- and post-semester measures of learning-style preference, and course evaluations. Results indicate significant changes in learning-style preference, from…

Develops a taxonomy of styles for teaching general chemistry laboratory courses. Differentiates between expository instruction, inquiry instruction, discovery instruction, and problem-based instruction in the laboratory. Reviews research on the effectiveness of the various types of instruction. Contains 68 references. (WRM)

Compares the academic achievement of students from two Dutch medical schools, one employing problem-based learning (PBL) and one using non-PBL methods. No systematic differences were found on total test scores. Differences were demonstrated only at the level of individual questions. Results indicate that PBL and non-PBL instructional methods have…

A study of 71 Michigan State University medical school students in their first semester of a problem-based curriculum found that students' initial dependence on tutors progressed to an emphasis on learning resources. This result was congruent with the theoretical model of the dynamics of problem-based learning. (Author/MSE)

Student performance in two different introductory biochemistry curricula are compared based on standardized testing of student content knowledge, problem-solving skills, and student opinions about the courses. One curriculum was used in four traditional, lecture-based classes (n = 381 students), whereas the second curriculum was used in two…

The paper commences by briefly introducing the systems engineering programme, then focuses on the "systems" module, which requires the first-year students to undertake a number of "open-ended" projects. During the problem-based learning (PBL) based projects the students are expected to combine creativity and the knowledge they acquire during the…

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on a foreign language course at a large mid-west university in the USA. In the study a web-based tool which supports both linear and non-linear learning environments was designed and developed for this course. The aim of this study was to find out students' preferences pertaining to the learning…

Problem-based learning has in recent times aroused keen curiosity due to its pedagogical orientation of facilitating students' active construction of knowledge. As a curriculum model it is designed based upon the solving of either simulated or real-life problems that generally tend to be ill-structured and open-ended. In such a model students are…

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of problem-based active learning in science education on students' academic achievement and concept learning. In the study, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilized. Quantitative data were obtained via the pre/post-test, treatment-control groups test model. Qualitative data…