Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching technique in which students’ learning is conveyed using real-world problems. However, the implementation of PBL is confronted with several challenges, namely the involvement of students, the definition of the teacher’s role, and the development of effective...

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Main Authors: Babo Lurdes, Mendonça Jorge, Pinto Carla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-12-01
Series:Open Education Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0051
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author Babo Lurdes
Mendonça Jorge
Pinto Carla
author_facet Babo Lurdes
Mendonça Jorge
Pinto Carla
author_sort Babo Lurdes
collection DOAJ
description Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching technique in which students’ learning is conveyed using real-world problems. However, the implementation of PBL is confronted with several challenges, namely the involvement of students, the definition of the teacher’s role, and the development of effective assessment mechanisms. This paper describes and analyses a teaching framework based on PBL followed in the Differential and Integral Calculus and Statistical Models courses in a Biomedical Engineering Bachelor, at the School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto. In order to assess students’ points of view about the effectiveness of this PBL approach with regard to knowledge acquisition, development of soft skills, and assessment methods, a questionnaire was administered at the terminus of the semester. Data analysis revealed that newcomers are more likely to use PBL, while second-year students feel more pressure and report more workload with this type of assessment. In this regard, we consider that factors such as maturity, education level, workload in other courses, and prior PBL experience may influence students’ willingness to adhere to PBL.
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spelling doaj-art-4a1af17fd47d4a6f9a37d2f86e5b13422025-01-07T07:55:40ZengDe GruyterOpen Education Studies2544-78312024-12-0161678110.1515/edu-2024-0051Students’ Perceptions of PBL UsefulnessBabo Lurdes0Mendonça Jorge1Pinto Carla2CEOS.PP, ISCAP & SIIS, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, PortugalISEP & SIIS, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto & Centre of Mathematics, University of Porto, Porto, PortugalProblem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching technique in which students’ learning is conveyed using real-world problems. However, the implementation of PBL is confronted with several challenges, namely the involvement of students, the definition of the teacher’s role, and the development of effective assessment mechanisms. This paper describes and analyses a teaching framework based on PBL followed in the Differential and Integral Calculus and Statistical Models courses in a Biomedical Engineering Bachelor, at the School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto. In order to assess students’ points of view about the effectiveness of this PBL approach with regard to knowledge acquisition, development of soft skills, and assessment methods, a questionnaire was administered at the terminus of the semester. Data analysis revealed that newcomers are more likely to use PBL, while second-year students feel more pressure and report more workload with this type of assessment. In this regard, we consider that factors such as maturity, education level, workload in other courses, and prior PBL experience may influence students’ willingness to adhere to PBL.https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0051problem-based learningsoft skillsstudents’ perceptions
spellingShingle Babo Lurdes
Mendonça Jorge
Pinto Carla
Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
Open Education Studies
problem-based learning
soft skills
students’ perceptions
title Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
title_full Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
title_fullStr Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
title_full_unstemmed Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
title_short Students’ Perceptions of PBL Usefulness
title_sort students perceptions of pbl usefulness
topic problem-based learning
soft skills
students’ perceptions
url https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0051
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