A comparison between the effectiveness of PBL and LBL on improving problem-solving abilities of medical students using questioning

Abstract

In daily patient-history taking and diagnosis practice, doctors ask questions to gather information from patients and narrow down diagnostic hypotheses. Training medical students to be efficient problem solvers through the use of questioning is therefore important. In this study, the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) and lecture-based learning in improving the questioning abilities of medical students (N = 104) was assessed by a modified 20-question task. In this task, the participants were asked to identify target pictures by asking questions, the problem-solving process of which resembles that of the diagnosis scenario. Moreover, this task requires no medical knowledge, and therefore allows knowledgeirrelevant questioning abilities to be assessed independently. The results show that PBL students generally ask more efficient questions and use fewer questions to complete the task. This finding suggests that PBL curricula may help improve the questioning strategies of medical students and help them diagnose more efficiently in future diagnosis practice.

Engineering Students’ Approaches to Learning and Views on Collaboration: How do both Evolve in a PBL Environment and What are their Contributing and Constraining Factors?

“…An explanatory mixed research approach is employed to generate both quantitative and qualitative data, sampling 197 students from four engineering courses in Qatar and China. Although higher educational institutions in both countries have been called to make pedagogical changes to provide students with profession-related competences over the last decade, a lecture-based approach remains the prevailing teaching method (Du, Su, & Liu, 2013;Du, et al, 2016Du, et al, , 2019He, et al, 2018;Sabah & Du, 2018;Zhao, Zhang, & Du, 2017).…”

Mixed-mode instruction using active learning in small teams improves generic problem-solving skills of university students

“…In various academic publications (Greiff, Holt, and Funke 2013;He et al 2018;Newton et al 2015;Simper et al 2018), problem-solving skills and critical thinking are consistently listed among the top most desirable soft skills. Remarkably, the highest percentage (60%) of employers responding to a survey listed PSS as lacking in recent university graduates (PayScale 2016).…”

“…With regard to strategies that are effective in advancing generic PSS, available evidence supports use of several different active learning approaches, as well as collaborative teamwork, to foster this skill set (Chetty 2014;He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013;Lian and He 2013;Montrezor 2016;Newton et al 2015). It has also been argued that course content delivery based on a mainly didactic lecturecentred approach does not improve students' PSS (He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013Klegeris et al , 2017Lian and He 2013).…”

“…With regard to strategies that are effective in advancing generic PSS, available evidence supports use of several different active learning approaches, as well as collaborative teamwork, to foster this skill set (Chetty 2014;He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013;Lian and He 2013;Montrezor 2016;Newton et al 2015). It has also been argued that course content delivery based on a mainly didactic lecturecentred approach does not improve students' PSS (He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013Klegeris et al , 2017Lian and He 2013). Several different types of problem-based learning (PBL), offered both in-class and online with small or large groups of participants, have been shown to effectively advance students' PSS (Anderson et al 2008;He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013;Lian and He 2013;Tune, Sturek, and Basile 2013;Woods 1998).…”

“…It has also been argued that course content delivery based on a mainly didactic lecturecentred approach does not improve students' PSS (He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013Klegeris et al , 2017Lian and He 2013). Several different types of problem-based learning (PBL), offered both in-class and online with small or large groups of participants, have been shown to effectively advance students' PSS (Anderson et al 2008;He et al 2018;Klegeris et al 2013;Lian and He 2013;Tune, Sturek, and Basile 2013;Woods 1998). It has also been suggested that different types of group work and PBL, including case-based learning (CBL), lead to the development of a broader set of 'employability skills', including not only PSS but also critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills (Dolan and Collins 2015;Hakkinen et al 2017;Mumtaz and Latif 2017;Newton et al 2015;Thistlethwaite et al 2012;Wilder 2015).…”