Lyla LindholmUMKC Nursing Faculty

enhance learners' individual problem-solving and critical-thinking skills

engage the very self-motivated students in a more active process;

improve access to graduate nursing education, especially for nurse practitioner students who could then practice in rural areas where there are shortages of health-care professionals, and

incorporate humor and games into learning activities.

http://dmc.umn.edu/projects/smith/

http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9812/pbl_1.htm National Teaching and Learning Forum

Usually, a class is divided into groups of approximately five students each. The groups' membership generally remains constant throughout the term. At the purest level, the groups define the "learning issues" they believe each new problem presents and decide how to divide their labors to resolve them. Thus, aggressive PBL implementation requires ample library resources. Likewise, large class situations require an adequate number of tutors to act as support and facilitators to the groups.

"This approach keeps a constant flow going between teacher and student, and you can't put a price tag on

that."

http://www.womenshealth.gov/hearttruth/ed_problembased.cfm U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Materials to support a two session problem based learning session about women and heart disease, incorporating risk assessment, lifestyle counseling, and aspects of diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Alternative endings allow exploration of medical errors (failure to diagnose heart disease in a female patient with atypical symptoms). Includes examination questions, references and resources. Uses supplemental materials (ECG and dietary counseling materials) available below.

http://www.womenshealth.gov/hearttruth/pdf/cases_nurses.pdf The materials for the PBL Case Study. Note: slow download.

So Long, Tonto So why now? If problem solving, "engagement," applying,

active questioning have been recognized as the keys to motivation and effective education for generations, why has the approach been "newly recovered"? For at least two main reasons. David Chapman, associate dean of Arts and Science at Samford University, points to the "information explosion." That, he says, has made "the coverage model in traditional survey courses more and more difficult to defend." Barbara Duch puts it plainly: "Faculty have to make hard decisions and get to the essentials."

http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9812/pbl_1.htm National Teaching and Learning Forum