Guest Editors’ Introduction: Special Issue on Problem-based Learning in Health Professions Education/Toward Advancement of Problem-Based Learning Research and Practice in Health Professions Education: Motivating Learners, Facilitating Processes, and Supporting with Technology (original) (raw)
Related papers
2020
Recommended Citation Ge, X. , Planas, L. G. , & Huang, K. (2015). Guest Editors’ Introduction: Special Issue on Problem-based Learning in Health Professions Education/Toward Advancement of Problem-Based Learning Research and Practice in Health Professions Education: Motivating Learners, Facilitating Processes, and Supporting with Technology. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 9(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1550
Problem-Based Learning: Outcomes Evidence from the Health Professions
Journal on excellence in college teaching, 2014
Over the past 30 years, problem-based learning (PBL) has become a major force in health professions education and even in the broader educational world. This article focuses on the outcomes that have been found from using PBL in the health professions based on at least 20 reviews done since 1990. The outcomes identified in these reviews are described as well as the strength of the evidence used in their support. These review results are augmented with results from selected articles that elaborate on how PBL can produce the identified outcomes.
Problem-based Learning and Theories of Teaching and Learning in Health Professional Education
Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 2016
Although problem-based learning (PBL) has been linked to several theories of teaching and learning, how these theories are applied remains unclear. The objective of this paper is to explore how theories of teaching and learning relate to and can inform problem-based learning within health professional education programs. We conducted a scoping review on current theories of teaching and learning and considered their relevancy to the problem-based learning approach. The findings suggest that no single theory of teaching and learning can fully represent the complexity of learning in PBL. Recognizing the complexity of the PBL environment and the fluidity between theories of teaching and learning, we proposed eight principles from across 11 theories of teaching and learning that can inform how PBL is operationalised in university-based health professional education: 1) Adult learners are independent and self-directed; 2) Adult learners are goal oriented and internally motivated; 3) Learn...
JPO: Journal of Prosthetics …, 2002
Given the complexity and the pace of today's health care environment, educators of health professionals are increasingly challenged to insure that graduates of entry-level programs have requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes for competent patient care, as well as the capability of adapting to change, generating new knowledge, and critically reflecting on and improving their practice. 1 The standards for accreditation for entry-level physical therapy, occupational therapy, orthotics/ prosthetics, and nursing programs have in common the expectation that graduates will be capable of information-seeking, critical appraisal, and knowledge management skills that are necessary for effective evidence-based practice and foundational to being a lifelong learner. 2-5 Lifelong learning used to be tagged to the broad area of "professional growth" alone, but is now seen as essential to delivery of effective patient care in the context of a rapidly growing and changing body of professional knowledge, and an increasingly complex health care environment. Fraser and Greenhalgh1 define competence as what individuals know or are able to do in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. They define capability as the extent to which individuals can adapt to change, generate new knowledge, and continuously improve performance. 1 While traditional lecture-based educational models are effective in building competence of graduates, there is less evidence that such ways of learning facilitate graduates' capability to function effectively in an ever-changing, complex clinical environment. 6 Today's "expert" practitioners are not those with the most discipline-specific knowledge or skills; they are individuals who access and evaluate emerging, as well as frequently conflicting or ambiguous, evidence from a variety of fields and resources, establish conceptual links across and among the evidence sources, and tailor their conclusions to the specific needs of an individual patient. 7,8,1 Process-oriented teaching and learning methods such as the problem-based learning (PBL) paradigm are alternative educational methodologies aimed at preparing graduates to be capable of the active, contextual, nonlinear, and transformative learning necessary to today's dynamic clinician. 9,10,1 WHAT IS PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING? PBL is a student-centered, collaborative, nontraditional approach to education that was first implemented in medical education at McMaster's University in 1965. 11 This approach to health education has been adopted by many entry and postprofessional educational programs in medicine, 12-15 nursing, 16-19 physical therapy, 20,21 occupational therapy, 22,23 and pharmacy, 24 among others.
Problem-based learning in medical education: Developing a research agenda
Adv Health Sci Educ, 1996
While the use of problem-based learning (PBL) methods continues to increase in medical education, three literature reviews of PBL have appeared in the past several years which come to different opinions about their merits. This analysis summarizes the research evidence regarding PBL by examining how well it has met its originators' goals, what we know about how PBL works, and how PBL fares in a goal-free comparison with conventional curricula. A research agenda is suggested to refine our understanding of well-documented effects of PBL, to probe for other possible longer term PBL outcomes, and to examine if and how PBL affects knowledge acquisition and retention. Consistency of evidence from a variety of PBL implementations can help decide whether the effects seen can be attributed to PBL or are the results of other curricular features unique to one setting.
How to Apply Problem-Based Learning in Medical Education? A Critical Review
Iberoamerican Journal of Medicine , 2020
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a cornerstone of modern medical education. Principles of PBL are the construction of knowledge, prior knowledge activation, organization of knowledge, elaboration of knowledge, stepwise transfer across contexts and cooperation with other learners. It provides the ability to identify the knowledge, generate and analyze hypotheses that lead to the differential diagnosis of the case according to the complaint of the patient by using history taking, physical exam, and investigations. Application of any innovation such as PBL faces many challenges and obstacles that are related to the students, tutors, learning environment and other stakeholders. We can overcome these obstacles by more training sessions for tutors and students. In addition, the construction of PBL curriculum should be based on a community-oriented approach because it depends on the priorization of common health problems in the surrounding community.
Creative Education, 2010
Context: Recently, problem-based learning (PBL) methods have been incorporated into occupational therapy (OT) curricula as in healthcare curricula worldwide. Yet, most studies examining the effectiveness of these methods have not taken into account the individuals' learning style and occupational functioning, despite of their importance. Objective: Our research examined the question of whether specific learning styles correlate with a higher self-evaluation by occupational therapy students of their occupational functioning (learning, studying) during a new course incorporating PBL method and with greater course satisfaction. Methods: 40 female students took part in the study. The various learning demands in the new PBL course are described. We assessed students' learning styles using Felder's Index of Learning Styles, while Self-Assessments of Occupational Functioning (SAOF) provided learning outcome data. We used both a modified 23-item SAOF and a novel 26-item adapted version, to examine the occupational functioning required of healthcare practitioners. Course satisfaction was assessed accordingly. Results: Occupational therapy students adopt all learning styles (sensing, intuitive, visual, verbal, active, reflective, sequential, and global) equally. Nevertheless, two-tailed Pearson's tests revealed that a sensing (i.e. practical, facts-oriented) learning style most strongly correlates with greater assessed occupational functioning in the areas of habituation and performance, e.g. time organization, routine flexibility, and communication (r = 0.33, p < 0.05). An intuitive learning style correlates with a significant ability to identify problems (r = 0.35, p < 0.05) and set goals (r = 0.36, p < 0.05), and global learning style yielded greater course satisfaction (r = 0.56, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Students having sensing and intuitive learning styles gain most from the use of PBL method. Thus, the apparently contradictory findings of earlier research regarding the efficacy of PBL methods may have arisen from differences in the learning styles of the populations surveyed. Since problembased and traditional teaching methods appear to suit different learning styles and to better impart different skill sets, they should be regarded as complementary.
Problem-Based Learning: a Time to Reflect and Remediate
South-East Asian Journal of Medical Education, 2016
Purpose: Problem Based Learning (PBL) has become a widely accepted learning method due to its student-centred philosophy and non-didactic nature. While there are recognized benefits of PBL, there is equal concern about the problems which arise during execution. After several cycles of implementation or reviews, schools should be able to determine whether PBL is effective for their institution, if not, it may be useful to reflect on the challenges and consider remediation. Methods: The rationalization for this motion is discussed based on the status of PBL in medical education, the various types of PBL, the problem cases, cultural contexts, facilitators' skills, learning spaces and alternative teaching and learning methods. Results and Conclusion: We conclude that educational strategies may be relooked and redesigned consistently to best suit the purpose. We do not suggest that all schools drop PBL, however, it is worthwhile to consider remediation or alternatives, if PBL is found to not effectively achieve the learning outcomes. The principles of constructive, contextual, collaborative and self-directed learning should continue to be the foundation for devising such educational strategies.