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This book addresses the relation between Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and interdisciplinarity and challenges the often implicit assumption that PBL leads to interdisciplinarity by default. The book examines theoretical and philosophical aspects of PBL and interdisciplinary learning. The first part of the book conceptualises the notions of problem-based learning and interdisciplinary learning, and highlights some key overlaps and ways of conceiving of their interrelatedness. It discusses the role of problem-based medical education in relation to interdisciplinary professionalism in medical education. Taking the reader into the realm of techno-anthropology, the book discusses the role of problems and projects in transgressing disciplines, and presents an analysis of three challenges facing new students when entering interdisciplinary and problem-based higher education. The second part of the book focuses on practicing interdisciplinarity in problem-based higher education. It explores how the construction of problems in interdisciplinary PBL projects can be seen from the perspectives of multicultural groups, and examines group processes in interdisciplinary PBL projects. It concludes by taking a closer look at student practices in interdisciplinary PBL, and at how students are positioned and position themselves in the complex transdisciplinary PBL project.

In this book we respond to a higher education environment that is on the verge of profound changes by imagining an evolving and agile problem-based learning ecology for learning. The goal of doing so is to humanise university education by pursuing innovative approaches to student learning, teaching, curricula, assessment, and professional learning, and to employ interdisciplinary methods that go far beyond institutional walls and include student development and support, curriculum sustainability, research and the scholarship of teaching and learning, as well as administration and leadership.An agile problem-based learning (PBL) ecology for learning deliberately blurs the boundaries between disciplines, between students and teachers, between students and employers, between employers and teachers, between academics and professional staff, between formal and informal learning, and between teaching and research. It is based on the recognition that all of these elements are interconnected and constantly evolving, rather than being discrete and static.Throughout this book, our central argument is that there is no single person who is responsible for educating students. Rather, it is everyone's responsibility – teachers, students, employers, administrators, and wider social networks, inside and outside of the university. Agile PBL is about making connections, rather than erecting barriers.In summary, this book is not about maintaining comfort zones, but rather about becoming comfortable with discomfort. The actual implementation is beyond the scope of this book and we envisage that changing perceptions towards this vision will itself be a mammoth task. However, we believe that the alternative of leaving things as they are would ultimately prove untenable, and more distressingly, would leave a generation of students afraid to think, feel, and act for themselves, let alone being able to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Developed in the context of health sciences education in the late 1960s, problem-based learning (PBL) is now widely deployed as an education methodology. Its problem-solving, collaborative, student-centred ethos is seen as a more appropriate system of pedagogy than earlier ‘chalk-and-talk'modes. Focusing on its use in clinical education, this collection of recent scholarship on PBL examines the ways in which PBL is both conceived and implemented in clinical education. The work has a dual emphasis, research-driven on the one hand, while on the other assessing new methodologies to explore how problem-based curricula support the achievement of students'learning outcomes in the context of clinical education.The chapters draw on studies that explore PBL both theoretically and empirically. The volume's eclecticism capitalises on the growing body of empirical research into PBL evaluations. It balances this with studies analysing the relatively new area of discourse-based research on PBL-in-action, whose focus has been to interrogate the ‘how'of student learning in curricula with PBL content.This publication will be of interest to clinical teachers, curriculum designers and those interested in innovations in the scholarship of teaching and learning in PBL curricula.

‘A Problem-based Approach for Management Education'describes the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in management education. PBL is an active learning approach first pioneered in medical education, but whose use has grown steadily in a variety of professional fields over the past two decades. The authors draw upon their experience in using PBL in a broad array of management education programs at the Bachelor, Master, Doctoral and Executive levels, in North America and in Asia. This book is designed to provide both novice and experienced users of PBL with resources for designing and implementing problem-based management education. The book provides the novice with useful theoretical and practical background on how design a PBL curriculum, use PBL in a classroom, and develop PBL materials. At the same time, the book will challenge experienced users of PBL and case teaching to extend their applications through the use of learning technologies and more systematic approaches to assessment and curriculum design.

'This is a wide ranging, clearly focused, accessible book that engages with the practices and findings of research into problem-based learning… The book is clear on the problems and the strategies, the debates and the research based practices which make PBL accessible wherever it is suitable for effective learning.'Professor Gina Wisker, Anglia Polytechnic University'This book punctures the sometimes inflated rhetoric about PBL by exploring some of its inherent difficulties and contradictions, and moves debate on through critical glimpses of the rich and varied practices undertaken under the banner of PBL.'Professor Graham Gibbs, University of Oxford'...provides a wealth of practical and theoretical insights into the challenges of using pbl which will be of value both to those currently using the approach and those thinking of introducing it into their programmes.'British Journal of Educational TechnologyThis book presents international research into Problem-based Learning within a range of subject and vocational disciplines, applications and cultures from a variety of perspectives: student, facilitator, module leader, curriculum designer.It presents a range of findings related to designing, implementing, assessing and evaluating PBL courses. Challenging Research in Problem-based Learning is key reading for academics and tutors utilising PBL, as well as those studying for teaching qualifications, lecturers involved in teaching for the professions and on continuing professional development courses.Contributors:Terry Barrett, Brian Bowe, John Cowan, Roisin Donnelly, Erik de Graaff, Chris Hockings, Bill Hutchings, Dan Jacobsen, Peter Kandlbinder, Sharron King, Ranald Macdonald, Claire Howell Major, Yves Maufette, Karen O'Rourke, Betsy Palmer, Maggi Savin-Baden, Charlotte Silén, Alexandre Soucisse, Kay Wilkie.

“This book closes a gap in the PBL literature. It is a thoroughly researched, well documented and engagingly written three part harmony addressing conceptual frames, recurring themes, and broadening horizons. An essential addition to your library.”Professor Karl A. Smith, University of Minnesota“…a comprehensive guide for those new to PBL, and suitable for those new to teaching or for the more experienced looking for a new challenge.”Dr Liz Beaty, Director (Learning and Teaching), HEFCE“This book vividly articulates the key ideas of PBL and provides new PBL practitioners with key guiding posts for its implementation. It is an excellent contribution to the art of using PBL.”Associate Professor Oon-Seng Tan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore·What is problem-based learning?·How can it be used in teaching?· How does problem-based learning affect staff and students?· How do we assess and evaluate it?Despite the growth in the use of problem-based learning since it was first popularised, there have been no resources to examine the foundations of the approach and offer straightforward guidance to those wishing to explore, understand, and implement it.This book describes the theoretical foundations of problem-based learning and is a practical source for staff wanting to implement it. The book is designed as a text that not only explores the foundations of problem-based learning but also answers many of the frequently-asked questions about its use. It has also been designed to develops the reader's understanding beyond implementation, including issues such as academic development, cultural, diversity, assessment, evaluation and curricular models of problem-based learning.Foundations of Problem-based Learning is a vital resource for lecturers in all disciplines who want to understand problem-based learning and implement it effectively in their teaching.