Four problem-based tutorial groups (n=23 students, n=4 faculty) in Harvard University Medical School's New Pathway track were studied to determine what interactions characterized student-directed discussion. It was found that students selected most topics discussed, that tutors questioned infrequently, provided limited information, and tolerated…

At the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, a core course in pediatric optometry was revised to use a problem-centered approach and implemented with a class of 147 students. Students were assigned specific roles to distribute work evenly. A survey found students responded positively to this approach. (MSE)

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…

Reviews research on organizational change and leader effectiveness, and argues that communication should be addressed formally in administrator and teacher preparation programs. An ongoing effort to develop a communication skills component of an administrator preparation program that incorporates problem-based learning is described. (SLD)

Describes how the World Wide Web was implemented in a graduate course that focused on technology-based learning at the University of Wollongong (Australia). The interactions that took place among students, and between students and the instructor illustrate how problem-based learning strategies can be supported by the Web. (Author/LRW)

Describes the investigative case-study approach in biology, a variant of problem-based learning. Students develop questions that lend themselves to scientific investigation and develop their own investigative approaches. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

In the Discover Lab, a science education center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, students learn to investigate, critique, and test big scientific questions and devise their own answers. Students are guided through cyclical processes of inquiry, logic and reasoning, testing and experimentation, and communication. (MLH)

This paper discusses an exploratory study to investigate the existence, and nature, of student problem formulation and resolution processes in an undergraduate online Problem-Based Learning (PBL) course in Agricultural Sciences. We report on the use of a content analysis instrument developed to measure problem formulation and resolution (PFR)…

In responding to The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA [now the Disability and Discrimination Act, Part 4]), UK universities have made significant efforts to address issues of access and inclusivity via structural changes to campus environments and developments in student support. However, little attention has been given to…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has gained credibility and some use in institutions of higher education. This paper provides a brief conceptual discussion of PBL and the idea of "problem," and describes one learning model that incorporates PBL as a method for moving students to high levels of learning. The second portion of the paper describes one…

Messy, real-life problems provide the starting point for learning in a radically transformed instructional environment. In problem-based learning (PBL), students in educational administration classes--aspiring and current principals--jointly decide how to deal with the problems and learn leadership skills by facilitating collaboration and building…

The objective of this project was to develop a way of producing instructional materials such that once an acceptable design had been achieved, hypermedia documents could be easily generated with no additional programming or design effort. The project was undertaken to support a case-based instructional curriculum in medical education. Southern…

Altering the age of a patient in a problem-based curriculum should encourage students to explore ethical issues related to human development. To assess the influence of a patient's age on problem-based tutorial discussion, the relevant discussion categories and the numbers of age-related discussions were compared. Subjects were four groups of six…

One of the significant aspects of the experimental, problem-based teacher education program described in this report is the selection of students who have completed a bachelors degree with a major in an appropriate teaching field, have had three or more years of work experience in addition to their college degree, and who exhibit an acceptable…

The need to change higher education to respond to the demands for continuing education is discussed, and the contributions of three groups to the facilitation of learning through learning-centered and problem-based curriculum design are examined. (MSE)