In recent decades, one important objective in higher education has been developing professionals who can display competences in their specific work fields. Hence, the development of such competences and skills has been a widely discussed, highlighting that the use of active pedagogical initiatives might be the best approach to fulfill this…

Engaging in an online course has traditionally been perceived to be a lonely experience, with students busy viewing video lectures, working on problem sets and interacting intermittently with others using asynchronous technologies. More recently, over the past 6-7 years, online courses have become recognized as viable delivery vehicles for online…

Three-dimensional multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) have the potential to provide experiential learning qualitatively similar to that found in the real world. MUVEs offer a pedagogically-driven immersive learning opportunity for educationalists that is cost-effective and enjoyable. A family of digital virtual avatars was created within…

Context: Qualitative methodologies are relatively new in health sciences education research, especially in the area of problem-based learning (PBL). A key advantage of qualitative approaches is the ability to gain in-depth, textured insights into educational phenomena. Key methodological issues arise, however, in terms of the strategies of…

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how poststructuralism and social constructionism can contribute to the empirical research on groups in problem-based learning (PBL). The paper outlines the analytical complexity and shows, through empirical examples, the potentials and limitations of this perspective as an alternative to traditional group…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been increasingly employed as a teaching and learning approach in many disciplines in higher education. In English medium of instruction (EMI) universities in Asia, PBL can further enhance knowledge construction as well as development of disciplinary language and communicative skills. It is necessary to explore how…

Universities and institutions of higher education are facing economic pressures to sustain large classes, while simultaneously maintaining the quality of the online learning environment (Deming et al., 2015). Digital learning environments require significant pedagogical shifts on the part of the teacher. This paper is a qualitative examination of…

This qualitative study examines student learning about leadership across three sections of a capstone course in an undergraduate leadership minor. Qualitative methods were informed by exploratory case study analysis and phenomenology. Student-centered and inquiry-focused pedagogical approaches, including case-in-point, action inquiry, and…

Problem-based learning (PBL) courses have historically been situated in physical classrooms involving in-person interactions. As online learning is embraced in higher education, programs that use PBL can integrate online platforms to support curriculum delivery and facilitate student engagement. This report describes student perspectives of the…

This article reports on the qualitative aspects of a study that examined whether introducing a "Problem-based Learning" ("PBL") approach in a one-year foundation programme can create conditions for learners to develop and sustain self-directed learning skills. This interpretive constructivist case study was located in…

A principal goal of higher education is to prepare students for the real-world challenges they will encounter upon graduation in their everyday life, in their work and in society. While discipline specific content knowledge is an important component of a college education, a 2010 survey of employers conducted for the Association of American…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 13th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2016), October 28-30, 2016, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), co-organized by the University of Mannheim, Germany, and endorsed by the…

Previously, we reported qualitative findings showing that students who experienced a problem- or enquiry-based course (EBL) in a first-year seminar program had greater confidence in their academic abilities, were more engaged, and were better prepared for upper-year courses. In the current paper, we provide quantitative data to substantiate the…

Peer assessment provides a powerful avenue for students to receive feedback on their learning. Although student perceptions of peer assessment have been studied extensively in higher education, little qualitative research has been undertaken with medical students in problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. A qualitative study of students' attitudes…

This study examined the perspectives of three graduates of a problem-based learning (PBL) physical therapy (PT) program about their clinical practice. Researchers used qualitative methods of observation, interview, and journaling to gather the data. Three sessions of audiotaped interviews and two observation sessions were conducted with the three…