Problem-based Learning (PBL) - Essay Example

Although this concept was initially used by the medical school of thought, today it is widely employed in the field of nursing education also. As scholars point out, problem based learning can be very effective in nursing education because this concept is capable of enhancing patient safety. This paper will discuss a nursing situation where problem based learning activity is performed to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. The paper will also analyze how this type of study design can be applied to teaching practice.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) The article ‘Problem solving strategies used by RN to BSN students in an online problem based learning course’ written by Oldenburg and Hung (2010) illustrates that elements of problem based learning process including ‘active learning, analysis and synthesis, collaboration, and learning in the context’ can significantly contribute to the development of problem solving and critical thinking skills in nursing students. The major purpose of this article is to gain understanding of students’ problems solving experiences in an online problem based learning environment.

The article gives particular focus to various problem solving strategies used by students and changes identified in those strategies throughout the semester. The authors conduct this study based on the problem based learning and the community of inquiry models. The community of inquiry model outlines the essential elements of higher education success in an online environment such as social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence (Oldenburg & Hung). In this research work, a qualitative-case study approach was employed to obtain extensive information and deep understanding of various problem solving strategies chosen by a group of learners in a problem based learning course.

RN to BSN nursing students, enrolled in an online pathophysiology course were the participants in this study. Under this study, each group of students were asked to identify the patient’s primary condition and relevant pathophysiology and to make decisions in order to assess the problem solving strategies used by students. The research findings indicated that problem solving is a dynamic process, and students change their strategies between the phases rather than continuing their work in a sequential manner.

According to Oldenburg and Hung, the problem based learning activities really assist students to effectively deal with processes like problem recognition, information gathering, construction of meaning, and problem resolution. Cooper and Carver (2012) assert that the problem based learning can greatly aid students to define each problem using their past experiences and knowledge. It was observed that students analyzed the problem information to determine which information was to form a good understanding of the problem.

Using their previous experiences, students could easily recognize relevant facts and the additional information required to diagnose the problem. The authors opine that the most advantageous feature of this problem based learning activity is that students can identify their own knowledge gaps. Referring to Cooper and Carver, under the problem based learning approach, students used their past experiences to guide research with the help of shared information obtained from textbooks, scholarly articles, and other online resources.

In addition to gathering