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The United Arab Emirates University has implemented a unique adaptation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to meet the short, medium and long-term interdisciplinary developmental needs of its first-year university students (Learner Training, Thinking Skills, Application of Knowledge, Information Literacy, and Communication). This paper highlights the process of adapting PBL to the foundation year context and presents initial findings demonstrating its positive impact. These findings provide evidence that this adaptation of PBL supports the development of important life-long learning skills, can motivate and engage students, and enables them to make a variety of connections to other subjects, to other students (a community of learners), and to the broader community.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of problem‐based learning (PBL) in higher education based on a large sample of first‐year undergraduates from two programmes at a Hong Kong University (n=132). One programme uses an entirely problem‐based approach to learning, whilst the other uses traditional methods.

Using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) as a measure of metacognition, differences in metacognitive development are explored between each group of students between the beginning and end of their first 15 months in each programme.

Despite significantly weaker entry scores on the LASSI, the mean final scores, taken after 15 months and three semesters of study in the different curriculum environments demonstrate dramatic improvements in metacognition for the PBL group. In addition, analysis of student learning experience measured at the end of the programme revealed that the PBL group reported significantly higher scores in their overall course satisfaction and generic skills development.

The paper argues that, in addition to the formal learning context, everyday challenges emerging from the additional new social contexts provided by problem‐based curricula provide fertile environments for the development of metacognition and enhancement of the learning experience. The implications of PBL environments on fostering constructivist learning and enhancing student experience are discussed.

This research is original in its use of the LASSI inventory as a pre‐ and post‐measure of metacognitive development in undergraduates. This is an online questionnaire administered to two groups of students following similar programmes except one is problem based and the other more traditional, and the results are strikingly significant.

This study aimed to examine whether the use of wiki-systems in healthcare internship courses that adopt a problem-based learning approach may have significant influences on the relationships among students' relationship commitment, knowledge-sharing behavior and perceived problem-based learning performance in the context of higher education.

This study adopted a quasi-experimental approach. Cross-sectional survey data collected from 187 undergraduate students in Taiwan were used for the data analysis procedures. The students in the experimental group used wiki-systems and a set of information and communication technologies as learning tools, while the students in the control group used the same set of information and communication technologies only. The statistical techniques of independent t-tests and component-based structural equation modeling were adopted to examine the research hypotheses.

The results reveal significant differences between the experimental and control groups concerning relationship commitment, knowledge-sharing behavior, independent study and active participation. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding group interaction and reasoning skills. Additionally, all the hypotheses regarding the relationships among constructs were supported.

Wiki-systems have unique features that can enhance the effectiveness of problem-based learning activities. This study is among the first to investigate how wiki-systems may affect the effectiveness of problem-based learning processes by investigating the relationships among healthcare students' relationship commitment, knowledge-sharing behavior and perceived problem-based learning performance. The results of this study can advance the current understanding of the effectiveness of wiki-based problem-based learning in the context of healthcare education.

This article demonstrates the implementation and efficacy of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in an undergraduate entrepreneurship business planning course. Throughout the course, ill-structured problems arise that require independent thinking and ongoing problem solving with students taking responsibility for their own learning. The course incorporates the latest classroom technology and how that technology is utilized to deliver self-directed learning. The PBL methodology is then evaluated in light of anonymous student survey results. The objective is to create a framework for future assessment in evaluating PBL in the business planning course.

The purpose of this article is to present a problem‐based learning case on the use of XML technologies for semantically describing cultural data. Students of three higher and continuing education institutes were divided into groups and were encouraged to solve specific problems and eventually to understand the concepts and the deployment of semantic technologies through their practical involvement. The aims of the teaching approach are for students to become familiar with XML technologies, to annotate historical data and to understand the importance of annotating cultural information for enabling further processing and exploitation of the identified data relationships.

Initially the aims of the teaching case were set and specific problems associated with them were designed. A start‐up lecture on the basic concepts of XML was presented and then students were challenged with ill‐defined problems as the problem‐based learning method advises. Students then presented and discussed their solutions and approaches. At the end of each problem‐based section the knowledge of the students was assessed. On the completion of the teaching case, the students' opinions were surveyed and the results towards the approach were very positive.

The students provided solutions to the problems presented, and their opinions at the end of the teaching approach indicated that students preferred the problem‐based approach to the lecture‐based method. Students argued that, although learning on their own and with little help from the instructors is more demanding, it has specific advantages. They mentioned that they can work at their own pace and better understand the concepts involved. The skills and the knowledge acquired are transferrable to other situations.

Although the problem‐based learning approach has been applied to medical and gifted education, minimal research has been conducted outside these fields. Therefore, this article focuses on the cultural heritage domain and presents a case of teaching a technical topic to non‐computer science students.

Staff at Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training developed a 70‐hour problem‐based learning exercise (PBLE) and integrated this program into the existing Basic Patrol Officer Academy. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of PBL in developing subject‐specific policing knowledge as well as decision‐making, problem‐solving, and collaboration skills.

Following the PBLE, students completed an in‐depth survey prompting feedback on the ability of the program to develop various skills known to be important to policing. These self‐reported data were collected from 122 students over three academy sessions and evaluated by Chi‐square statistical analysis.

Results indicate that the pilot PBLE is significant in helping students develop new policing skills, demonstrating how information learned in class applies to field work, aiding in recall of class material, developing problem‐solving skills, and learning skills needed to work in groups in the law enforcement field (p<0.01).

This research demonstrates that PBLEs can be effective in developing difficult‐to‐teach skills. The pilot program also helps students discover how material presented in class applies to fieldwork. A program able to bridge the gap between information recall and application would be a significant addition to any training.

Research demonstrating the effectiveness of programs based on PBL philosophy is difficult to find, particularly in relation to law police training. The experience of students who have been through the Idaho program is a valuable step towards filling this void. The program also demonstrates that some of the purposed benefits of PBL can be achieved without necessitating a rewrite in training curriculum.

This chapter will provide an overview of how Problem Based Learning (PBL) is used to support first year chemistry students at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. The chapter will go on to provide an overview of the learning journey that we have undertaken over the last seven years by discussing the challenges we have encountered and by including details of how we have adapted our approach based on student and staff feedback and other considerations. The chapter is a follow up to a previously published article with a focus on the changes made since this initial publication (Williams, Woodward, Symons & Davies, 2010).

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been suggested as an approach to education for sustainable development (ESD); however, the integration of interdisciplinarity is continuously challenged as it requires transfer and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, as well as integration into an often already-overflowing curriculum. Even in formalized PBL universities emphasizing student responsibility for defining relevant problems, envisioning sustainable solutions and developing transversal competences, interdisciplinary collaboration is still often “relocated” to extra-curricular activities. This paper aims to explore Aalborg University (AAU) Megaprojects as a case for systematically integrating principles of ESD, and particularly interdisciplinarity, into PBL at scale.

The paper proposes a framework for analysing potentials and challenges concerning interdisciplinary framing and facilitation in large-scale projects based on PBL- and ESD-related research and presents findings from a case study on the first three rounds of megaprojects at AAU in 2019 and 2020.

The findings indicate that interdisciplinary megaprojects have the potential to motivate students to engage in sustainable development; however, they require systematic framing and guided facilitation, particularly in the early stages, for students to take ownership, prioritize collaboration and see the contribution to and connection between disciplines. They also need prioritization at all institutional levels to succeed as an institutional strategy of ESD.

The paper provides insights into the potentials and challenges of framing and facilitating large-scale megaprojects as an approach to integrate the SDGs and interdisciplinary collaboration into higher education. Hence, it aims to provide new insights, concepts and practices for ESD and PBL for sustainability.

This study explores how the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in technical and vocational education training (TVET) systems of Nigerian higher education (HE) can enhance quality graduate outcomes. The study also explores the issues and challenges of PBL implementation in the TVET system of Nigerian HE.

This study follows the assumptions of qualitative research. The authors interviewed 55 participants and had a focus group with 7 TVET postgraduate students. The 55 interviewees were drawn from TVET teachers (n = 33; 24 males and 9 females), Directors at National Board for Technical Education (n = 4; 3 males and 1 female), Directors of National Directorate of Employment (n = 5; 3 males and 2 females), Directors at the Federal Ministry of Education (n = 3 males), and industry executives (n = 10; 7 males and 3 females). Data were collected through a semistructured interview approach, transcribed and coded using NVivo 12 plus and analyzed through thematic analysis.

The results show that PBL in the Nigerian TVET system has positive implications for quality TVET graduate outcomes in that it can enable integrating theory and practice, motivate learning, improve students' self-efficacy, allow students to construct learning on their own, enhance graduate competencies and graduate employability. It also revealed six perceived possible major challenges to effective implementation of PBL in the Nigerian TVET system, which includes inadequacy of teaching and learning facilities; corruption in Nigerian education sector; recruitment of unqualified incompetent TVET teachers; difficulties in identifying real-life problems, among others. Participants offered benchmarks and actions and standards for improving the identified challenges, which formed a framework for coping with issues, challenges, and barriers to effective implementation of PBL in the TVET system of Nigerian HE (Table 1).

The results of this study are original and serve as an advocacy for Nigerian HE authorities to explore how PBL can be implemented in the TVET system to improve graduate outcomes. The study serves as a starting point for more research in the domain of improving the quality of TVET programs in Nigerian HE. Industry leaders and policymakers in Nigeria and other developing countries could use the findings from this study to increase HE and industry participation and partnership for quality of TVET program.