This quantitative study examined factors underlying middle and high school teachers' choices about whether to use problem-based learning (PBL). Survey items measured respondents' perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and the value and costs they placed on implementing PBL. Teachers who have taught with PBL (n = 126) had significantly…

One essential piece of implementing of PBL is the problem. There have been calls from practitioners in the PBL field for a systematic process for designing effective PBL problems. Yet, the research efforts to explore, develop, and test PBL problem design methods or processes are still sparse. From an instructional designer and researcher's…

In this study, a mixed-method design was employed to investigate the association between a student-centred, problem-based learning (PBL) method and law students' motivation. Self-determination theory (SDT) states that autonomous motivation, which is associated with higher academic performance, can be reached when there is fulfillment of three…

A large number of studies in CMC have assessed how social interaction, processes and learning outcomes are intertwined. The present research explores how the degree of self-determination of learners, that is the motivational orientation of a learner, influences the communication and interaction patterns in an online Problem Based Learning…

E-portfolios are increasingly seen as a promising tool for facilitating learning as students engage in the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) process. Research that evaluates e-portfolios in the context of PBL is, however, limited. In addition, advantages of the use of e-portfolios both generally as well as in the context of PBL have tended to be…

This study examines whether teachers are able to apply the principles of autonomy support and structure support in designing digital problem based learning (PBL) tasks. We examine whether these tasks are more autonomy- and structure-supportive and whether primary and secondary school students experience greater autonomy, competence, and motivation…

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger case study that explores the nature of motivation to learn in an online distance environment. The study adopts self-determination theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework and focuses particularly on the underlying concepts of autonomy and competence. These are used to investigate ways in which certain…