Problem-based learning has been used in medical school in a number of different countries around the world for over 50 years, with both undergraduate and graduate students. Instead of the traditional lectures, laboratory practical classes and tutorial system of education, students in small groups are presented with a problem that they must try to solve. They are assisted by a 'facilitator' who ...

Problem based learning (PBL) has been the subject of considerable interest and debate in medical undergraduate and, increasingly, postgraduate education in recent years. Its supporters maintain that PBL enhances learning by providing a highly motivational environment for acquisition of knowledge, which is well received by those who take part in it. Critics argue that PBL is a time consuming exe...

OBJECTIVE To investigate medical students' perception of problem based learning (PBL), to compare the acceptance level of new students who were introduced to PBL theoretically with those who had 2 years experience, and to study the effect of PBL on the academic performance. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students at King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi ...

Isomorphs of a puzzle called m+m resulted in faster solution times and an easily reproduced solution path in a labeled version of the problem compared to a more difficult binary version. We conjecture that performance is related to a type of heuristic called direction that not only constrains search space in the labeled version, but also facilitates solution by presenting an “easy to keep in mi...

The mode of Internet-enabled organization referred to here as “distributed problem-solving networks” (DPSNs) is also known as bazaar governance (Demil and Lecocq, 2006; Hope, 2008), commons-based peer production (Benkler, 2006), crowd sourcing, collective wisdom and wikinomics (Tapscott and Williams, 2007). There is currently debate in the academic literature as to how this mode of organizing r...

When a case-based planner is retrieving a previous case in preparation for solving a new similar problem, it is often not aware of all of the implicit features of the new problem situation which determine if a particular case may be successfully applied. This means that some cases may fail to improve the planner’s performance. By detecting and explaining these case failures as they occur, retri...

BACKGROUND Beneficial effects of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in medical education are often emphasized. However, there is another side of the coin. This study was conducted to find out frequency of PBL group problems in our setup and the influence of these problems on students' learning. We also compared the perception of students and tutors as regard to frequency and level of hindrance caused...

BACKGROUND Instant messaging applications have the potential to improve and facilitate communication between hospital doctors and students, hence generating and improving learning opportunities. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of instant messaging communication to supplement medical education for medical students whilst on clinical attachment. METHODS A total ...

BACKGROUND Problem based learning (PBL) has made major impact on curricular designing and practice in medical education for the last forty years. Incorporation of PBL approach in medical education has been a challenge and opportunity for both educationists on how to impart change and medical teachers on how to internalise the change. OBJECTIVES This paper aimed to investigate experiences, ach...