There has been much recent discussion about student engagement in higher education, and in the last few years a number of authors have undertaken extensive international research on the topic, which has been summarized in a number of literature reviews. However, to date, there has been relatively little in-depth exploration of student engagement…

The author argues that there is still too much teaching to the test, and the consequence is growing "constellations" of problem-based learning (PBL), some of which are useful, and some of which are not. Today, what passes for PBL practice often seems more like guidelines than any kind of reasoned pedagogy. While at one level the range of…

For many years there has been a sharp division between project-based learning, and problem-based learning, with the former adopting a more technical rationalist approach while the latter adopts a more Socratic or dialogic approach. This article argues that current notions of project-based learning are too narrow and that combining the two…

This paper suggests that there has been a move away from teaching as a means of transmitting information, towards supporting learning as a student-generated activity. There has been much work relating to this in the arena of problem-based learning, which to date has been seen as a relatively stable approach to learning, delineated by particular…

This article reports the findings of a demonstrator project to evaluate how effectively Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) could support problem-based learning. The project designed, created and evaluated eight scenarios within "Second Life" (SL) for undergraduate courses in health care management and paramedic training. Evaluation was…

Faculty experiences of innovative approaches to learning and the changes to their knowledge emerging from such experiences constitute an important area of inquiry that has to date largely been ignored or has been approached with research methods ill-suited to examining such experiences. This paper adopts interpretative meta-ethnography as its…

This article offers an overview of the method of narrative inquiry and explores competing trends in the use of the approach. It not only examines the theories relating to the method but also offers practical guidance on using narrative inquiry, including an exploration of what might count as a narrative and ways of analysing narrative data. The…

The central argument of this book is that the potential of problem-based learning is yet to be realized in higher education. Problem-based learning is an important approach to learning, based in the experiential learning tradition, that needs to be more centrally located in higher education curricula. Part 1 of this book explores problem-based…

This article explores assessment in the context of problem-based learning (PBL) at three different levels. Firstly, it examines the position of assessment in the current system of higher education and, secondly, it examines students' experiences of assessment in problem-based programmes. The article draws on research into PBL that explored staff…

Argues that, for problem-based learning (PBL) to succeed, a sound program of staff development is required and describes the introduction of PBL into Nursing and Midwifery curricula at the University of Dundee (Scotland) including key components and evaluatory evidence to support its efficacy. (DB)

Background: The literature on immersive virtual worlds and e-learning to date largely indicates that technology has led the pedagogy. Although rationales for implementing e-learning have included flexibility of provision and supporting diversity, none of these recommendations has helped to provide strong pedagogical location. Furthermore, there is…