The perspective of communities as a situated context dates back to the works of Vygotsky (1978, 1981) who posited that cognition begins at the social inter-mental level and through the process of internalization meanings become translated or assimilated into the individual level. Within this social to individual transition, learners can be…

This article comprises the results of a qualitative study designed to examine community college leaders' attitudes toward problem-based learning as a method for teaching leadership. The respondents in the study participated in a year-long community college leadership academy, which used problem-based learning as the primary instructional method.…

Recently, issues of space and spatiality have been taken up in education, though less so in teacher education. This article examines the significance of space for pedagogy and identity in teacher education. Drawing on topological approaches to the study of pedagogy, it explores the potential of a problem-based approach to teacher education to link…

This article argues that the merger of simulations and problem-based learning (PBL) can enhance both active-learning strategies. Simulations benefit by using a PBL framework to promote student-directed learning and problem-solving skills to explain a simulated dilemma with multiple solutions. PBL benefits because simulations structure the…

This article describes a case study of an approach to medical education known as problem-based learning, or PBL, which has been applied to the teaching of a course in biomedical English. It is suggested that the course fulfills the traditional requirements of an EAP course in tertiary education, but also satisfies the requirements of PBL in being…

The application of the technology acceptance model to a merchandising course teaching industry software was evaluated. Based on technology acceptance research, industry software was presented emphasizing ease-of-use and usefulness. The final course project gave students a quasi real-life experience of combining merchandising skills with the…

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…

This article describes a problem-based learning (PBL) project that incorporates active learning into an organizational behavior (OB) course. It describes a six-step process for designing a course around problems that students identify in their work, school, or personal lives. In addition to researching an OB concept to address their problem,…

This article on problem-based learning (PBL) explores the advantages of its use as a teaching/learning strategy for introducing information literacy to students. The author reviews the various methods presented in the literature for integrating PBL and information literacy, examines the unique challenges PBL presents for instructors, librarians,…

This paper describes an approach called opportunity centred learning that has been developed by the author and applied in the field of enterprise education. The relationship between opportunity centred learning and existing theory and practice in learning and education is outlined in comparison with problem-based learning and action learning, and…

This article focuses on the use of problem-based learning in high school foods and nutrition classes. Problem-based learning, an instructional approach that promotes active learning, is the elaboration of knowledge that occurs through discussion, answering questions, peer teaching, and critiquing. Students are confronted with a simulated or real…

This paper presents a case where students can learn about aquatic communities. In this case, students speculate on what may have caused a major fish kill in an estuary in North Carolina. In the process, they explore how land runoff and excess nutrients affect aquatic communities. They also learn about the complex life cycle of the dinoflagellate…

The aim of the present work was to see if storytelling in a clinical dental anatomy course would increase student satisfaction. We enhanced teaching by spontaneous storytelling in problem-based learning, in half of the third-year dentistry class. At the end of the course, we administered an anonymous questionnaire to the students in the class,…

This paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture co-financed project PBP-VC, Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper outlines a tentative model of issues…

This paper describes a student-focused activity that promotes effective learning in analytical chemistry. Providing an environment where students were responsible for their own learning allowed them to participate at all levels from designing the problem to be addressed, planning the laboratory work to support their learning, to providing evidence…