Integrated problem-based learning versus lectures: a path analysis modelling of the relationships between educational context and learning approaches

Abstract

Students’ approaches to learning are central to the process of learning. Previous research has revealed that influencing students’ approaches towards deep learning is a complex process and seems much more difficult than expected, even in student-activating learning environments. There is evidence that learning approaches are impacted not only by the learning environment, but also by how students perceive it. However the nature of the links between the environment itself, the way in which it is perceived by students and students’ learning approaches is poorly understood. This study aimed at investigating the relationships between students’ perception of their educational context and learning approaches in three learning environments differing by their teaching formats (lecture or problem-based-learning PBL) and integration level of the curriculum (traditional or integrated). We tested the hypothesis that a PBL format and an integrated curriculum are associated to deeper approaches to learning and that this is mediated by student perception. The study sample was constituted of 1394 medical students trained respectively in a traditional lecture-based (n = 295), in an integrated lecture-based (n = 612) and in an integrated PBL-based (n = 487) curricula. They completed a survey including the Dundee-Ready-Educational-Environment-Measure (students’ perceptions of the educational environment) and the Revised-Study-Process-Questionnaire (learning approaches). Data were analysed by path analysis. The model showed that the learning environment was related to students’ learning approaches by two paths, one direct and one mediated via students’ perception of their educational context. In the lecture-based curricula students’ used deeper approaches when it was integrated and both paths were cumulative. In the PBL-based curriculum students’ did not use deeper approaches than with lectures, due to opposite effects of both paths. This study suggested that an integrated lecture-based curriculum was as effective as a PBL curriculum in promoting students’ deep learning approaches, reinforcing the importance of integrating the curriculum before choosing the teaching format.

Perceptions of Assessment in Norwegian Occupational Therapy Students

“…Ramsden (1991) found five learning environment factors to be derived from his proposed questionnaire, namely clear goals and standards, emphasis on independence, good teaching, appropriate workload, and appropriate assessment. By using scales to measure these concepts, a substantial amount of research has been in support of associations between learning environment factors and study behaviors and outcomes in a variety of student groups (Baeten, Kyndt, Struyven, & Dochy, 2010;Diseth, 2007;Diseth, Pallesen, Hovland, & Larsen, 2006;Gustin, Abbiati, Bonvin, Gerbase, & Baroffio, 2018;Kreber, 2003;Sharma, 1997;Wilson, Lizzio, & Ramsden, 1997), including occupational therapy (Richardson, Gamborg, & Hammerberg, 2005;Sadlo & Richardson, 2003). For example, Lizzio, Wilson, and Simons (2002) found that the higher-order measure of good teaching, which included the 'appropriate assessment' scale, was associated with a deep approach to studying and with greater satisfaction, greater generic skill development, and better grades.…”

Longitudinal Changes of Deep and Surface Learning in a Constructivist Pharmacy Curriculum

“…It is highly likely that the cognitive development of students from dualistic thinking to contextual relativism is ongoing [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 ] and that this development is strengthened by characteristics of the teaching/learning environment. In particular, the integration of course content and the use of problem- and project-based learning can be important [ 18 , 41 ]. Integrative teaching of content in student-activating educational formats such as problem-based and project-based learning can be effective in stimulating deep learning by creating cognitive frictions [ 42 ].…”

“…It is often stated that study programs, which are designed on constructivist principles, are effective in stimulating the cognitive development of students from dualism to contextual relativism [ 3 , 15 ] and an early empirical study by Muis and Duffy [ 12 ] suggests that this is indeed happening. In recent studies, where conventional, lecture-based, teacher-centered medical curricula were compared with more innovative, problem-based and/or integrated, student-centered curricula, it was demonstrated that deep learning and self-regulation processes are stimulated in the innovative curricula, compared to the conventional curricula [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The crucial idea of a constructivist curriculum is that knowledge is built by the students themselves using a deep, reflective learning process and that the teaching/learning environment accommodates, guides or ‘forces’ students along this pathway [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Encontros e desencontros entre projetos pedagógicos de cursos de Medicina e Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais: percepções de professores

“…O uso de "palestras" em currículos que adotam Problem Based Learning (PBL) -aprendizagem baseada em problemas -já foi relatado na literatura brasileira e internacional 32,40,41 . Dessa forma, a inclusão de conferências magistrais nesses currículos não é nova e pode ter lugar para sintetizar e atualizar temas complexos 42,43 .…”