Discussions about the relationships between formative and summative assessment have come full circle after decades of debate. For some time formative assessment with its emphasis on feedback to students was promoted as better practice than traditional summative assessment. Summative assessment practices were broadly criticised as distanced from…

In medical education, the effect of the educational environment on student achievement has primarily been investigated in comparisons between traditional and problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. As many of these studies have reached no clear conclusions on the superiority of the PBL approach, the effect of curricular reform on student…

The curriculum of our medical school has a hybrid structure including both traditional training (lectures) and problem-based learning (PBL) applications. The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles of our medical students and investigate the relation of learning styles with each of satisfaction with different instruction methods…

Integrated learning is the need of the hour. We at Shifa College of Medicine switched to an integrated modular curriculum last year. In the present article, we describe our experience with the renal module in year 2 of a 5-yr undergraduate medical curriculum. A multidisciplinary renal modular team developed the relevant objectives, themes, and…

This paper presents results of a study conducted with undergraduate students involved in either problem- or project-based curricula (Medicine and Engineering, respectively) at the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada. The objective of the present research was to measure the impact of these innovative curricula on students' engagement and persistence…

Reports on the implementation of a problem-orientated undergraduate medical curriculum that emphasizes experiential learning and the mastering of practical skills. Finds that attitudes, knowledge, and skills are interrelated and contribute to an enhanced process of learning. (Author/MM)

Discusses the problem-based learning format as it relates to the education of medical students. Describes key objectives in the education of physicians and questions how effective medical schools are in achieving those key objectives using a problem-based format. (CCM)

Objective: In problem-based learning curricula, cases are usually clustered into identified themes or organ systems. While this method of aggregating cases presents clear advantages in terms of resource alignment and student focus, an alternative "hidden cluster" approach provides rich opportunities for content integration. Method: The author…

Provides background information on the problem-based learning (PBL) model used in medical education that was adapted for high school economics. Describes the high school economics curriculum and outline the stages of the PBL model using examples from a unit called "The High School Food Court." Discusses the design considerations. (CMK)

This study examined students' experiences of university medical education, approaches to learning, and comprehension of learning tasks. It used semi-structured interviews with 60 preclinical and clinical medical students. Half of the students attended Gothenburg University (Sweden), which employed a conventional discipline-based curriculum, while…

Seventeen medical students in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum reported that on average they spent twice as much time preparing for step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination as did 52 students in the traditional lecture-based curriculum at the same school. Different learning approaches were also employed. (SLD)

A new medical curriculum at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, is described. Student knowledge, understanding, and skills are developed through the study of a sequence of clinical problems integrated with appropriate practical and clinical activities. Such an innovative curriculum implies different roles for academic staff. (Author/MLW)

The Parallel Curriculum, a problem-based curriculum at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is described through each year of study. The curriculum increases learning enjoyment by making medical students responsible for scholarly exploration and integration of knowledge and skills with faculty support. (Author/GLR)

The learner's role in acquiring cognitive and interpersonal skills in a first-year medical school course in neurobiology (12 students) that used a small-group, problem-based teaching method. Objectives of the study were to: (1) determine the cognitive and interpersonal skills the students believed were important; (2) evaluate how well the students…

In a study of the development of measures that can assess specific learning and reasoning changes affected by a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum in medical education, evidence is provided of the cognitive benefits of a PBL approach. To determine whether PBL students reach reasoning goals with a novel clinical case, the study evaluated…