The Effectiveness of Problem Based Learning 1 - Teaching and ...

FurtherinformationFurther information about the project canbe downloaded from the project website(address below). A detailed summary ofthe two empirical studies can bedownloaded from the ESRC Regardwebsite (www.regard.ac.uk). A fullreport of the Pilot Systematic Reviewand Meta-analysis was published by theLearning & Teaching Subject NetworkCentre for Medicine, Dentistry andVeterinary Medicine and can bedownloaded from its website www.ltsn-01.ac.uk. A full report on the evaluationof Problem Based Learning inContinuing Nursing Education isavailable from the project website.Systematic Review teamPiet Van den Bossche (University ofMaastricht, The Netherlands);Charles Engel (Centre for HigherEducation Studies, Institute ofEducation, University of London);David Gijbels (University of Antwerp,Belgium); Jean McKendree (Learningand Teaching Support Network forMedicine, Dentistry and VeterinaryMedicine, University of Newcastle);Mark Newman (Middlesex University);Anthony Roberts (South Tees HospitalTrust, North Tees Primary Care Trust andUniversity of Durham); Isobel Rolfe(Faculty of Health, University ofNewcastle, Australia); John Smucny(State University of New York UpstateMedical University, USA);Giovanni De Virgilio (Istituto Superioredi Sanità, Italy).The warrantThe research question in this study wasspecifically concerned with establishingwhether the use of activities termed ProblemBased Learning results in different‘outcomes’ to the use of other teaching andlearning approaches. The review used asystematic and transparent process that hasbeen demonstrated to provide a more validand reliable appraisal of existing researchevidence that allows for the development andaccumulation of ‘knowledge’ specifically by:• Defining transparent inclusion criteriathat limit consideration to studies thatused research designs which have beenempirically established as optimal forproviding evidence about effectiveness• Using these criteria to make decisionsabout the inclusion of studies, theresults of studies and the interpretationof these results• Two reviewers independently appraisedthe quality of these studies and carriedout data extraction• The use of existing frameworks for thereporting of Problem Based Learning asa basis for providing descriptivesummaries of the included studies• The use of an explicit framework for theanalysis of the results from the individualstudies using both systematic narrativesynthesis and exploratory meta-analysisThe limitations of the study design and itsconduct and their consequences have beenreported and explored. The relationshipbetween the results and conclusions istherefore explicit and the limited conclusionsdrawn do not go beyond that justified by theresults of the study.Teachingand LearningResearch ProgrammeTLRP is the largest education researchprogramme in the UK, and benefits from researchteams and funding contributions from England,Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Projectsbegan in 2000 and will continue withdissemination and impact work extendingthrough 2008/9.Learning: TLRP’s overarching aim is toimprove outcomes for learners of all ages inteaching and learning contexts within the UK.Outcomes: TLRP studies a broad range of learningoutcomes. These include both the acquisition of skill,understanding, knowledge and qualifications and thedevelopment of attitudes, values and identities relevantto a learning society.Lifecourse: TLRP supports research projects and relatedactivities at many ages and stages in education, trainingand lifelong learning.Enrichment: TLRP commits to user engagement at allstages of research. The Programme promotes researchacross disciplines, methodologies and sectors, andsupports various forms of national and international cooperationand comparison.Expertise: TLRP works to enhance capacity for allforms of research on teaching and learning, and forresearch-informed policy and practice.Improvement: TLRP develops the knowledge base onteaching and learning and collaborates with users totransform this into effective policy and practice in the UK.TLRP is managed by the Economic and SocialResearch Council research mission is to advanceknowledge and to promote its use to enhance thequality of life, develop policy and practice andstrengthen economic competitiveness. ESRC isguided by principles of quality, relevance andindependence.PEPBL website:http://www.hebes.mdx.ac.uk/teaching/Research/PEPBL/index.htmPEPBL Grant holder and Principal Investigator: Mark NewmanPEPBL contact: Mark NewmanE-mail: m.newman@ioe.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7612 6575Social Science Research UnitInstitute of EducationUniversity of London, 18 Woburn Square London WC1H 0NRTLRP Directors’ Team❚Professor Andrew Pollard ❚ Cambridge❚Dr Mary James ❚ Cambridge❚Dr Kathryn Ecclestone ❚ Newcastle❚Dr Alan Brown ❚ Warwick❚John Siraj-Blatchford ❚ CambridgeTLRP Programme Office❚Dr Lynne Blanchfield ❚ Lsb32@cam.ac.uk❚Suzanne Fletcher ❚ sf207@cam.ac.ukTLRPUniversity of CambridgeFaculty of EducationShaftesbury RoadCambridge CB2 2BX UKTel: +44 (0)1223 369631Fax: +44 (0)1223 324421www.tlrp.org