A Hawaiian cultural-based agricultural and environmental science professional development course was transformed based on the precepts of situated learning in communities of practice, and offered to K-12 teachers. In this article we describe the format and content of the transformed course based on lessons learned from previous years offered to…

A critical step in problem-based learning (PBL) units occurs when groups present their solution to the central problem. This is challenging for middle school students because it involves the creation of an evidence-based argument (Krajcik et al., "Journal of the Learning Sciences" 7:313-350, 1998). Using a mixed method design, this study…

This study aimed to explore how vocational high school students transfer knowledge through a problem-based learning (PBL) Internet platform. A PBL Internet platform was provided to 33 sophomore mechanical engineering students for a 6-week teaching experiment. A survey questionnaire, observation and interview were research instruments. The findings…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) on freshmen engineering students' beliefs about physics and physics learning (referred to as epistemological beliefs) and conceptual understanding of physics. The multiple-choice test of energy and momentum concepts and the Colorado learning attitudes about…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered learning model used heavily in the natural sciences. By supplying students with contextualized problems and stopping short of handing them the tools to solve the problems, instructors take on the role of facilitator rather than expert. Use of PBL in political science, and more generally the social…

This article presents research on evaluating problem-based learning using GIS technology in a Singapore secondary school. A quasi-experimental research design was carried to test the PBL pedagogy (PBL-GIS) with an experimental group of students and compare their learning outcomes with a control group who were exposed to PBL but not GIS. The…

The employability of university graduates is a concern in higher education as labour markets change more and more rapidly. This is of particular relevance for multi-faceted subjects such as geography. Studies on employability have to consider to what degree a university education helps graduates start a career. The results of a survey of 257…

Problem-based learning (PBL) curricula utilise authentic problems that are based in the real-world of practice. This very characteristic enables students to develop an intimate knowledge about the intricacies of practice, metaphorically, seeing the details of the forest floor. However, it is equally important for students to develop an overall…

Athletic training education is continuing to grow and change as different instructional methods are studied and implemented. Problem-based learning is one instructional method that has been implemented in varying degrees in athletic training education programs but its effectiveness has not been studied extensively. Problem-based learning has been…

This three-year Virtual Measurements Environment curriculum development project for higher education within the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union is the result of intense collaboration among four institutions, teaching applied sciences and technology. It aims to apply the principles and possibilities of evolved distance and…

This study assessed the capacity of a major Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Assignment to improve students' content knowledge surrounding relevant course concepts in two sections of "The Politics of Welfare Reform," a 200-level class offered at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The hypothesis was that performance on the PBL assignment, which…

Case study teaching had a long tradition in law and business before it made the jump to medical school education in the form of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in the 1970s. Today, both the University of Delaware's Clearinghouse and the University of Buffalo's National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) have hundreds of cases and…

The current study aimed to explore and articulate some of the key issues in problem-oriented learning (POL), in the context of health care education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculties representing four different health care disciplines around common issues identified in a prior survey study. Thematic analysis of the…

Education provides the basic knowledge and skill sets that enable individuals to gain employment. In today's world of increasing globalization, there is a need for skilled workers who can move quickly and easily across national borders. Globalization is real and important. It drives economic change, but its influence goes far beyond economics. As…

Previous studies have demonstrated that many college students, specifically those high on extraversion are prone to risky and sometimes unethical decision-making. The present study examined the impact of a decision-making "tool" that incorporated the use of standard ethical perspectives on students' attitudes and intentions. This "fill in the…