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- Vol 2 RE: Chapter 4
- Vol 2 TE: App B
- Vol 4 RE: Chapters 10, 14, 16, 22, App A, App B, App C
- Vol 4 TE: App C
problem-based learningself-directed learningcollaborative problem solvingflexible knowledgeintrinsic motivationinstructional scaffoldingprior knowledgeJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Hmelo-Silver reviews what students learn through problem-based learning and the processes intended to produce those outcomes. In PBL, learners work collaboratively on a complex problem without one predetermined answer, identify what they need to know, pursue self-directed study, apply new knowledge, and reflect on both the solution and their strategies.
Key ideas
The teacher facilitates rather than simply transmits information. The approach aims to develop flexible knowledge, effective problem-solving, self-directed learning, collaboration, and intrinsic motivation. The review connects these goals with cognitive and motivational theory and examines evidence from medical and other professional education. Students may acquire somewhat less immediately testable factual knowledge in some comparisons, yet often show advantages in application, retention, reasoning, and learning skills, with outcomes depending on curriculum design and assessment. Tutorial interaction, prior knowledge, problem quality, group functioning, and facilitation shape the learning process.
Why it matters
PBL is therefore not a single treatment or unguided discovery. Its effectiveness depends on scaffolding inquiry, aligning problems and assessments with goals, and supporting students as responsibility gradually shifts toward them.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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