The study aimed to determine if students in a redesigned course, firstly, hold different perceptions of the assessment demands and, secondly, adjusted their learning strategies towards deeper learning. Contrary to expectations, the students in the original assignment-based (ABL) course (n = 406 students) adopted more deep- learning strategies and…

A 3-year follow-up evaluation was conducted of an experimental problem-based learning (PBL) integrated curriculum directed to students of the first 2 years of engineering. The PBL curriculum brought together the contents of physics, mathematics, and computer science courses in a single course in which students worked on real-life problems. In…

Students in a problem-oriented alternative medical curriculum at Michigan State University used the same problem-based methods for curriculum improvement that are used to solve clinical problems. Students worked with faculty toward constructive curricular revision. (MSE)

Nowadays many schools in higher education implement problem-based learning to foster active learning processes by students. In some schools with a number of years of experience with this approach, phenomena can be observed which indicate signs of wear. The implementation of a large-scale innovation such as problem-based learning (PBL) seems to…

Purpose--The paper sets out to explore the challenges of problem-based learning (PBL) in tertiary education and to propose a framework with implications for practice and learning. Design/Methodology/Approach--A total of 18 tertiary students divided into three groups participated in the focus group discussions. A quantitative instrument was used as…

Problem-based learning (PBL) works with a series of problems that form the syllabus for a course or the basis of a curriculum. Learning occurs through the definition of the problem and its attempted resolution. PBL is challenging but offers much potential for geography with its interdisciplinary character. The challenge to geography lecturers is…

A constant concern for educators is how best to train the students. With the knowledge explosion and increasing complexity of the social problems, we have to look for ways to strengthen social work students' ability for continual development. Enhancing their lifelong learning competence would help them to face the future demands. To achieve this,…

Reports experiences with problem-based learning that was modified for distance education and used for teaching energy issues at Uppsala University (Sweden). Discusses the use of computer networks, collaborative learning, the Internet, pictures as problem presentation, teacher perspectives, and student perspectives, including social aspects.…

Describes and evaluates a package of measures designed to introduce a collaborative problem-solving (CPS) approach to learning tutorials of a second-year university macroeconomics subject. Presents findings related to the influence of CPS on tutors' teaching experiences, students' attitudes attendance and hours of study, and academic achievement.…

Describes a study that analyzed how students in three different Swedish university programs conceived of the meaning of problem-based learning and how they experienced their studies within a problem-based learning program. Discusses learning in context, social interaction, meta-cognitive reasoning and self-directed learning, and academic cultures.…

This article sets out to offer the reader an opportunity to engage with our emerging ideas about a reflective, person centred model for students and facilitators using problem-based learning (PBL). The model developed initially through several strands of qualitative inquiry including research with students, immersion in the existing literature and…

In this article, the author describes a project in which Collaborative Inquiry, or CI (Bray et al. 2000), was used by a small inquiry group consisting of a high school science teacher and two university educators, Marie Cashion and the author herself, Karen Goodnough, to explore Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In CI groups, co-learners work through…

During the last decades, traditional learning environments have been criticised for not developing the prerequisites for professional expertise (H. Mandl, H. Gruber & A. Renkl, "Interactive minds: Life-span perspectives on the social foundation of cognition," pp. 394-412, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996; P. Tynjala, "International…

This article describes my efforts to improve student skills in solving unstructured problems in a junior-level undergraduate business course by employing a problem-based learning (PBL) design. A rationale for adopting a PBL approach for this course is articulated. A 7-step problem-solving model is then presented. The course's design is described,…

The aim of this study was to compare the achievement of prospective primary science teachers in a problem-based curriculum with those in a conventional primary science teacher preparation program with regard to success in learning about gases and developing positive attitudes towards chemistry. The subjects of the study were 101 first year…