It has been argued that Paulo Freire's concept of conscientization, where critical awareness and engagement are central to a problem-posing pedagogy, provides the philosophical principles to underpin Problem Based Learning (PBL). By using dialogue groups and a combination of learning strategies to discover the nature of a problem, understand its…

Currently, there are a large number of higher education institutions transforming their traditional educational approaches to PBL. In order to address the challenges for PBL implementation for a university, it is quite necessary to investigate how the managers and staff members interpret PBL in practice. Through the exploration of a university…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been used to scaffold and support student learning in many Australian medical programs, with the role of the facilitator in the process considered crucial to the overall educational experience of students. With the increasing size of student cohorts and in an environment of financial constraint, it is important to…

Implementation of a pedagogical approach is a continuous and evolving process. As an institution with more than 15 years problem-based learning (PBL), we studied how the learning and teaching processes are currently practiced in a 2-year preclinical basic sciences program to assess whether they still match the intended objectives. Using both…

Some researchers have argued that the design of problems used in a Problem-based Learning (PBL) course or curriculum could have an impact on student learning cognitively or psychologically, such as students' self-directed learning process or engagement. To investigate the relationship between PBL problem design and students' self-directed learning…

In the first piece in this series ("Teaching for Engagement: Part 1: Constructivist Principles, Case-Based Teaching, and Active Learning"), William Hunter sought to make the case that a wide range of teaching methods (e.g., case-based teaching, problem-based learning, anchored instruction) that share an intellectual grounding in…

Student populations are diverse such that different types of learners struggle with traditional didactic instruction. Problem-based learning has existed for several decades, but there is still controversy regarding the optimal mode of instruction to ensure success at all levels of students' past achievement. The present study addressed this…

The purpose of this study was to determine the methods of experiential assessment in use at a Canadian university and the extent to which they are used. Exploring experiential assessment will allow identification of commonly used methods and facilitate the development of best practices of assessment in the context of experiential learning (EL) at…

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) on university students' satisfaction with and academic performance in a course on epidemiology and social and demographic health. The participants in this interventional study were 529 students (272 in the intervention group and 257 in the control group) enrolled in a…

The main issue of this paper is the discussion around the question "How can we teach and motivate the why-generation learners and the generation Z learners?". The aim of our project was to find out teaching and learning methods that teachers and learners can use in 21st century classroom. Strategies how to engage gen Y and gen Z learners…

Previous research indicates the importance of student discourse in the construction of knowledge and the fostering of critical thinking skills, especially in the field of problem-based learning (PBL). Further, a growing body of research on game-based learning (GBL) draws parallels between playing certain types of games and the solving of…

This study investigates the ways in which medical students' achievement goal orientations (AGO) affect their perceptions of learning and actual learning from an online problem-based learning environment, Calibrated Peer Review™. First, the tenability of a four-factor model (Elliot & McGregor, 2001) of AGO was tested with data collected from…

Self-efficacy for learning, which refers to students' beliefs in their capabilities to regulate their own learning, could determine students' motivation and academic achievement and, therefore, is significant in the learning process. This study examined how educational efforts based on constructivist theory were associated with the…

The primary purpose of this study is to examine Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark's (2006) argument against problem-based learning (PBL) by analyzing research used to support their stance. The secondary purpose is to develop a definition of PBL that helps practitioners use this technique. Seven studies were analyzed to determine whether the PBL…

Children are natural scientists full of curiosity. This curiosity allows them to ask questions about and to investigate their surroundings. Since science is not just a collection of facts to be learned, but rather investigations that need to be made, teachers should encourage that natural curiosity in the classroom. Luckily, the "Next…