A problem-based predoctoral dental implantology course at the University of Texas had small tutorial groups solve specific patient problems through discussion, individual research, clinical experience, and subsequent sharing of knowledge. Student reactions were enthusiastically positive and their performance exceeded faculty expectations.…

An undergraduate course in pharmacology in which problem-based self-directed learning in the context of small groups provides students with an opportunity to take greater responsibility for their own learning is described. The objectives, examples of problems used in the course, and student evaluations of the course and tutors are included. (KR)

A study identified the characteristics of effective teachers in a problem-based medical course. Students (n=44) saw significant differences in faculty's skills, methods, and classroom management, rating them highest on classroom participation, enthusiasm, and comfort outside their expertise and lowest on providing feedback and addressing…

Discusses possibilities for improving undergraduate-level general-education biology courses, particularly through the development of interesting and focused laboratory presentations. Advocates problem-based learning and improving the communication skills of laboratory teaching assistants. (Author/WRM)

Discusses the incorporation of a problem-based anatomy course into a traditional curriculum in the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb. Describes the course, challenges that arose during the transition, and institutional solutions. Students showed a high preference for the active learning process experienced in tutorials over the more…

An undergraduate pharmacy class in drug therapy was taught using a problem-solving approach and standardized case studies, with teacher feedback provided on case presentations using specific performance criteria. It was found that the teaching approach was successful in develop students' ability to apply pharmacotherapeutics in creation of patient…

This case study profiled an experienced teacher as she used two problems from a problem-oriented unit developed in a middle school mathematics curriculum project. The curriculum offered the students opportunities to make substantive mathematical connections, but teacher goals may have prevented some connections from being made. (SLD)

Discusses issues associated with implementation of a new problem-based dental curriculum at the University of Queensland (Australia), focusing on costs and challenges of implementation based on a 1996 survey of staff involved. The origins and rationale of the new curriculum are examined, and both direct and indirect costs are explored, with…

Describes TELD (Teaching by Examples and Learning by Doing), a Web-based online courseware engine for higher education. Topics include problem-based learning; project-based learning; case methods; TELD as a Web server; course materials; TELD as a search engine; and TELD as an online virtual classroom for electronic delivery of electronic…

Presents a longitudinal study comparing problem-solving performance for medical students trained using two different approaches to medical education. The first is traditional medical education involving lectures supplemented by laboratory exercises. The second approach is problem-based learning (PBL), where students learn basic concepts in small…

This investigation was designed to determine the influence of metaphorical priming on students' comprehension of issues and concepts pertaining to the U.S. Constitution when students studied the subject matter in a problem-based hypermedia instructional system. Sixty-five high school seniors studied the system for 5 days after receiving relevant,…

This paper explores how teachers with different teaching styles conceptualized and implemented a multimedia-supported problem-based inquiry (PBI) unit. We focus on how the teachers supported student thinking and examine underlying belief, knowledge, and dispositional factors that may account for differences in the teachers' practices. We…

In this article, we report on an experiment designed to improve the learning of metabolic biochemistry by nutrition and medical undergraduate students. Twelve students participated in a monitored lunch and had their blood extracted for analysis: (1) before lunch; (2) 30 min after lunch; and (3) 3 h after lunch. The subjects were divided in two…

The Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach enables the student to construct knowledge in his/her own way. Piaget, the founder of constructivism, saw the development of intelligence as a process involving the relationship between brain maturity and individual experience. The technology PBL (TPBL) approach confronts the student with a personal…

In this study, the effect of problem-based learning on students' academic achievement and performance skills in a unit on the human excretory system was investigated. Sixty-one 10th grade students, from two full classes instructed by the same biology teacher, were involved in the study. Classes were randomly assigned as either the experimental or…