The influence of two PBL curricular contexts on first-year students' understandings of PBL, approaches to learning and outcomes

Abstract

PBL curricular design aims to support students to think and act as practitioners. Therefore, students need to understand the learning context as it is designed. First-year dental students’ understandings of PBL, learning approaches, and student performance at Malmö University and the University of Adelaide were investigated. Students’ understandings of PBL in both curricula developed over one semester to more closely align with planned intentions. However, several key features of PBL were not noted by students. Malmö students’ PBL experiences were associated with deep approaches while Adelaide students’ PBL experiences were associated with a decrease in deep approaches. Associations between PBL understandings, approaches, and performance were not evident. These findings highlight the complex interactions between PBL contexts and students’ responses and provide some insights into curricular designs that support development of students’ understandings of PBL and associated learning outcomes.