Analyzes results from the final clinical examinations of two separate campuses of the University of the West Indies that use two different learning approaches. Concludes that, except for a few isolated cases, there were no statistically significant differences between the performance of the traditional group and the problem based learning (PBL)…

Describes task-based learning (TBL), a study module for fourth-year medical students (n=85), and experiences with implementing it at the University of Tampere in Finland. Indicates that this method works and that it leads to learning. Students evaluate their skills connected with a general practitioner's work in health center hospitals as better…

Explains the importance of evidence based medical education and how quantitative outcome studies are favored in medical education. Argues that evidence from ethnography can provide valuable insight into medical education using the introduction of a problem based learning (PBL) curriculum as an example. Includes 42 references. (Author/YDS)

Assesses the quality of tutorial sessions in the problem-based learning curriculum that was adopted at the University of Tampere in Finland. (Author/CCM)

Describes how a problem-based learning approach is used in a course on general surgery and reports the results in terms of degree of satisfaction of students, teachers, and patients. Employs interviews with a real patient with a real condition. (DDR)

Focuses on problem-based curriculum students' generation of learning issues that are guidelines for their individual study. Investigates how many learning issues can be classified as being of good quality and presents examples of well and poorly formulated ones. (DDR)

Problem-based learning at the United Arab Emirates University has presented particular challenges. Students, used to a teacher-centered approach, needed more support in taking advantage of active learning and tutorial support than their Western counterparts required. Study guides have become valuable components of the curriculum. Discusses…

A self-help group approach was used to enhance medical students' cooperative skills within an elective course. The task profile envisaged included team building, cooperative information search and problem-solving skills, and providing and receiving constructive feedback. Findings suggest that training for productive cooperative learning is useful…

In literature on problem-based learning (PBL), it is often difficult to determine whether the educational approach being described is actually PBL. Provides planners and assessors of PBL curricula with a framework for analysis. Educational activities can be categorized as PBL according to three core principles and four criteria concerning their…

Reports on experiences encountered during the first 18 months of a 3-year longitudinal study. Focuses on the assessment of staff attitudes and concludes that there is stress related to work overload and a lack of time for research and publishing. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

Reports on student and faculty perceptions of group dynamics in problem-based learning situations. Gender differences were demonstrated in interpretation of over 50% of the questionnaire items. Contains 18 references. (DDR)

Changes are being made in the medical physiology undergraduate curriculum at Leeds to help students take greater responsibility for their own learning. Describes the use of problem-based assignments, workbooks, clinical case studies, and computer-based learning exercises in the physiology course to encourage student-directed learning. (LZ)

Discusses the incorporation of a problem-based anatomy course into a traditional curriculum in the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb. Describes the course, challenges that arose during the transition, and institutional solutions. Students showed a high preference for the active learning process experienced in tutorials over the more…

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…

In a problem-based curriculum, students generate learning issues that are the guidelines for individual study. This study investigates the essential characteristics of learning issues and the importance they have in each year of training. Findings indicate that a useful learning issue contains a keyword that demarcates the content of a topic to be…