This study describes an intervention that introduced a period of solving non-routine problems into tertiary STEM lectures. The aim was twofold: to attempt to increase student engagement and to introduce them to the kind of domain-free abstract reasoning that involves critical, creative and innovative thinking. The study involved over 600 STEM…

Graduate employability is a key issue for higher education as new graduates face a highly competitive and rapidly changing employment sector. To maximise their likelihood of employment, graduates need to be able to demonstrate the skills and attributes most valued by employers. Employers, however, have long criticised the ability of graduates to…

This article identifies the profiles of students whose performance is improved by the PBL method, and the influence of certain student-dependent factors that lead to improvement. Effects on performance vary from one student to another, so we distinguish between outcomes among low-performing, average-performing, and high-performing students. To…

Problem solving has been characterized as one of the 'employability skills' due to the high demand for such abilities in a modern workplace. Most universities do not monitor progress of the generic problem-solving skills (PSS) of their students due to a lack of available assessment tools. We used previously reported 15-min tests to measure the…

Since 2000, the faculty of Medicine at the University of Liège has integrated problem-based learning (PBL) seminars from year two to seven in its seven-year curriculum. The PBL approach has been developed to facilitate students' acquisition of reasoning capacity. This contextualized learning raises the question of the de- and re-contextualization…

Problem-based learning (PBL) as an educational practice continues to have great impact on all levels of education and across different disciplines. The aim of this experimental study is to examine the effects of PBL on prospective teachers' academic achievements and self-regulation. The treatment group (n = 36) and the control group (n = 21)…

This paper reports outcomes of a study focused on discovering qualitatively different ways students experience problem-based learning in virtual space. A well-accepted and documented qualitative research method was adopted for this study. Five qualitatively different conceptions are described, each revealing characteristics of increasingly complex…

Growing pressure to restructure and reform tertiary education is encouraging university academics to use innovative practices that assist students to develop "employable" skills. The hybrid approach described in this paper stimulated students to be self-directed adult learners who maximized their learning of content and skills by means…

Recent calls have been made for a fundamental reorientation in higher education from a curriculum that simply transmits information (learner as receiver) to one that encourages students actively to construct their own knowledge and practice using new skills and concepts (learner as constructor). In response, the Case Analysis in Organisational…

In an instructional exercise at the University of Newcastle (Australia), social work students, staff, and organizations role-play in a simulated city to solve complex problems in a realistic but safe learning context. Experience suggests the extended simulation technique is effective. (MSE)