A description of the development of a new surgery clerkship looks at institutional background (University of Kentucky College of Medicine) for the project, preliminary evaluation and planning efforts, formulation of an ideal for the clerkship, barriers to change, overcoming resistance to change, and comparisons with problem-based learning programs…

In this study of students (N=112) invited to participate in a hematology-transfusion medicine tutorial, it was found that students (N=59) receiving problem-based instruction did more poorly than controls on short-term examination but maintained their knowledge after two years better than control groups. (MLW)

Examines the discourse of a problem-based learning group in medicine. Finds evidence of a differential diagnosis frame to organize the group's diagnostic inquiry procedures; coconstruction of explanatory case models linking causes to clinical symptoms through interactive discussion; processes of collaborative reasoning in evaluating alternative…

Examines the discourse of a problem-based learning group in medicine. Offers a sociocultural analysis of the data segment, focusing on the complex agendas pursued by the medical students. Explores the multiple agendas confronting a "transition community," the intra-space and inter-personal issues, and the role of the coach in transition…

Comments on a set of five analyses of the discourse of a problem-based learning group in medicine. Discusses how the five articles take a first step toward resolving a critical issue of learning theory: understanding the boundary between common sense and technical forms of reasoning, action, and discourse; and by what means students grow from…

Dental students and their problem-based learning (PBL) tutors completed questionnaires on the tutor's role after each PBL case. Found that although tutors displayed a more nuanced perspective on their performance than did students, questionnaire items related to tutor modeling of professional conduct within tutorials consistently emerged as…

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)

An observation at a problem-based learning, case-building meeting prompted the realization that building cases might itself be an effective educational intervention. We developed a process for a new continuing medical education technique that is peculiarly familiar that we call "build-a-case." Build-a-case has now been used for teaching and…

A series of simulated patient experiences were presented to two groups of five students concurrently with a regularly scheduled integrated course in neuroscience. Results showed increased motivation, problem solving, and self-study skills in the experimental groups as compared to the control groups, which were also enrolled in the neuroscience…

The faculty of medicine at McMaster University has an approach to medical education which includes self-directed, problem-based, and small-group tutorial learning. There is an emphasis on diagnostic evaluation, selective use of learning resources, and integrated learning and educational planning. (Editor/PG)

A few medical schools have introduced a significant innovation--the problem-based curriculum. Students meet in small tutorials and consider biomedical problems that they cannot solve without acquiring new information and skills. This experiment at Harvard gives "respectability" to the curriculum. (MLW)

Presents: (1) a list of ideas for teaching problem-solving; (2) a review of a problem-solving book used in medical education; and (3) a discussion of an approach called problem-based learning. (DH)

It is common practice in problem-based learning for students to solve cases developed by faculty. Rare is the practice of creating learning environments in which students construct their own cases. This paper examines the design and implementation of a 15-week problem-based learning writing course for graduate students in medical science. The…

A study compared results of 2 teaching methods, traditional Socratic method (22 students) and a problem-based curriculum (35 students) in a University of Kentucky medical school surgery clerkship. Results showed the problem-based method resulted in similar knowledge level but improved clinical problem-solving skills. (Author/MSE)

A University of Limburg (Netherlands) medical school study investigated the relationship between student-generated learning issues and faculty instructional objectives (i.e., the effectiveness of the problems posed) in a problem-centered obstetrics and child development curriculum. Subjects were 120 students and 12 faculty. Results indicated…