Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been the subject of controversy since it was introduced in 1992. However, it has yet to be critically examined as an alternative paradigm for medical education, which is how it was proposed. This commentary examines EBM on the terms on which it was originally advanced and within the context that gave rise to it,…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an innovative educational approach that dates back to the 1960s. However, the twenty-first century goal of sustainable education poses a challenge to PBL, especially as it relates to isolation. Here we discuss the underlying issue of isolation in three respects. First, the information-processing model of PBL depends…

This paper sheds light on an intellectual dispute on the purpose of problem-based learning that took place in the 1970s between two major figures in the history of PBL: Howard S Barrows from McMaster University and Henk Schmidt from Maastricht University. Using historical evidence from archive materials, oral history accounts and contemporary…

Arguably, constructive alignment has been the major challenge for assessment in the context of problem-based learning (PBL). PBL focuses on promoting abilities such as clinical reasoning, team skills and metacognition. PBL also aims to foster self-directed learning and deep learning as opposed to rote learning. This has incentivized researchers in…

Educational strategies that promote the development of clinical reasoning in students remain scarce. Generating self-explanations (SE) engages students in active learning and has shown to be an effective technique to improve clinical reasoning in clerks. Example-based learning has been shown to support the development of accurate knowledge…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been identified as an approach that improves the training of nurses by teaching them how to apply theory to clinical practice and by developing their problem-solving skills, which could be used to overcome environmental constraints within clinical practice. A consensus is emerging that there is a need for…

This study investigates fourth-year pharmacy students' experiences of problem-based learning (PBL). It adopts a phenomenographic approach to the evaluation of problem-based learning, to shed light on the ways in which different groups of students conceive of, and approach, PBL. The study focuses on the way students approach solving problem…

Reflects on the merits of the Problem Based curriculum designed at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario nearly 30 years ago. This curriculum was a product influenced by the times in which it was used rather than by any educational theory. Concludes that it is necessary to edit the problems as well as any other course materials so as not to…