Increasingly, graduates across a range of professions are required to possess the ability to critically evaluate information, solve problems and participate in collaborative group work. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach to learning that emphasises student centred engagement with real problems or situations, involving learners…

Evidence for the superiority of guided instruction is explained in the context of our knowledge of human cognitive architecture, expert-novice differences, and cognitive load. Although unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are very popular and intuitively appealing, the point is made that these approaches ignore both the structures…

This article reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of a module in the MEd (Business) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong in which an explicit problem-based learning (PBL) approach was used to investigate the challenges associated with the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in…

This paper describes a pedagogical technique employed for an interdisciplinary course on Cold War America. Students had to "become" a fictional person and discuss how political and social changes during the Cold War era would have impacted that person. By doing a semester-long project that required primary source research, this…

This paper reports on the experiences of a small collaborative inquiry group consisting of a high school science teacher, Deidre, and two university researchers, the authors of this paper, as they explored an active, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning referred to as Problem-Based Learning or PBL (Barrows, 1994; Barrows & Tamblyn,…

Understanding the relevance of basic science knowledge in the determination of patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment is critical to good medical practice. One method often used to direct students in the fundamental process of integrating basic science and clinical information is problem-based learning (PBL). The faculty facilitated small…

This study examined students' experiences of university medical education, approaches to learning, and comprehension of learning tasks. It used semi-structured interviews with 60 preclinical and clinical medical students. Half of the students attended Gothenburg University (Sweden), which employed a conventional discipline-based curriculum, while…

Integrating up-to-date composition theory with pedagogical research in critical thinking and inquiry, this book presents a flexible organizational structure to accommodate a range of freshman composition course designs and to engage students intellectually in problem-centered writing activities to prepare them for academic tasks across the…

Problem-based learning (PBL) as a new instructional method is becoming increasingly popular. PBL is hypothesized to have a number of advantages for learning because it applies insights from cognitive learning theory and it fosters a lifelong learning strategy. As in all learning programs there are individual differences between students. This…

An innovative curriculum called the "Regional Center Alternative Pathway," recently adopted by the Northwest Center for Medical Education (part of Indiana University's School of Medicine), is presented. The curriculum combines the traditional structure's didactic approach with a new problem-based tutorial curriculum. In this curriculum…

Since 1991, the problem-based learning (PBL) approach has been incorporated into the distance education program culminating in a Bachelor of Building degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The Newcastle conceptual PBL model for on-campus courses was adapted to the special needs of distance learners. The…

Simulation, including role-playing and role-simulation, as techniques for teaching English as a second language are discussed and illustrated. Introductory sections outline the instructional value of simulations, their motivating function, stages in their production, and their structure. Their production includes these stages: analysis of student…

In a study of intermediate level college economics courses, achievement levels of students taught by a problem-centered approach were compared with achievement levels of students taught by traditional lecture and discussion methods. Experimental students did no better than the control students. Additional research is suggested. (Author/DB)

Primary care physicians were surveyed regarding their preference for lecture, hands-on, and problem-based learning sessions. Analyses found no significant relationship between individual learning style as determined by the instrument used and instructional preferences. The discussion examines potential reasons for these findings. (CT)

Dartmouth Medical School offers a problem-based internal medicine clerkship structured to give students an opportunity to think critically through real patient cases with unknown diagnoses and allow faculty to evaluate students' problem-solving skills, clinical judgments, and reasoning without the influence of residents. (MSE)