PBL in Context

Abstract

This book is a compilation of selected papers from the International Conference on Problem-Based Learning (9th- 11th June 2005) in Lahti, Finland. The writers in this collection are from Europe, Asia and North America, and the articles reveal a multifaceted understanding of problem-based learning and the varied ways in which it is implemented. The instructional method of applying PBL in Asian classrooms emphasises the importance of problem design as a tool for the teacher. Seven-, eight- or nine-step models are typical PBL-approaches in North-America and Central-Europe, especially in medical education. Meanwhile, in Scandinavian countries, the scenario cycle of PBL developed at the University of Linköping is favoured in different fields of higher education.

The book is aimed at teachers and researchers from a variety of disciplines, as well as developers, trainers and experts on working life interested in the pedagogical development of their practices. The articles examine PBL implementation across a range of subjects including psychology, early childhood education, physics, engineering, medicine and nursing. The fields are varied, but the main ideas and principles are similar: What is a good problem? How to design different problems for different purposes? How can teachers develop themselves as tutors? How can tutors learn to facilitate student groups and lead group processes? How to solve the dilemma of assessment and evaluation in PBL pedagogy? How is the PBL curriculum different compared with conventional curricula? The questions are numerous.

The aim of the book is to offer some answers to these questions and to stimulate new ones. This is the way PBL works!