No abstract

Despite the increased attention that problem-based learning has received as an appropriate pedagogical technique for educating adults for professional practice, reports that evaluate the process are rare and usually relate to professions other than nursing. A study was undertaken in order to discover the graduates' own perceptions of a problem-based learning programme and its effectiveness in preparing them for the reality of their chosen profession. Twelve practising graduate nurses who had completed the programme were interviewed according to the ethnographic method. Three categories were identified from the data: 'and all of a sudden...', which describes the transition from PBL student to staff nurse; 'not an unthinking assistant', where the characteristics that the PBL graduates believe make them different from traditionally trained nurses are described; and 'the buck stops here', which describes the sense of personal responsibility that the graduates experience in terms of their learning and actions.

This paper reports the findings of one stage of an ongoing project to evaluate a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. Focusing on the students themselves, the ethnographic study explored how undergraduate nursing students (n=17) managed and made sense of a PBL programme. Fieldwork and ethnographic interviews revealed the students' perceptions of the purpose of PBL and further issues that were of concern were identified and labelled the uncertainty of functioning without a clearly delineated educational structure, perceptions of knowledge acquisition, understanding of group interaction processes, and the role of the facilitator. These findings and the implications that arise as a result are discussed.

This paper reports the findings of one stage in an ongoing project to evaluate, from the students' perspectives, a student-centered problem-based learning (PBL) program in a School of Nursing Studies. We begin by making a comparison between teacher-centered education and religious devotion, and liken PBL to a congregation without a priest. A topographical account of the setting follows, describing the typical activities and events that characterize the program. Throughout the course of this account, a number of issues arise: the role of the facilitator, group dynamics, mutual responsibility and motivation for learning. These are touched on briefly, but we do not attempt to make a substantive theoretical contribution. Despite the widespread popularity of PBL in nursing schools, there have been few empirical studies conducted and, consequently, the adoption of PBL in nursing has been dependent upon the research of the very different discipline of medicine and medical education.

This study investigated to see if preschool children could determine their own achievable goal and use self-recording of the step by step instruction to achieve the goal. In addition, children presented their goals to their peers. To investigate the effect of self-recording of step by step instruction, two individual case studies were completed in experiment one. A multiple baseline across participants was used in experiment two to measure three separate children's achievement during baseline and intervention of self-recording and step by step instruction. It was found that over 50% of the children could state their own achievable goal. It was also found that children's academic performance increased when self-recording their own progress. iii Acknowledgement I would like to show my gratitude to my advisor and committee chairperson, Dr. Barbara Warash, whose encouragement, support, and guidance I attribute the level of my Masters degree. Along with my committee chairperson, I would like to thank fellow committee members Dr. Dan Hursh and Dr. Amy Root for their guidance and assistance during the construction of my thesis. Also, I would like to thank Melissa Workman for her continued support in carrying out the research of this study. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who have given me the confidence and encouragement to succeed in both school and life. v Figure 8…………………………………………………………….……52 Discussion………………………………………………………………….……54