Academic Exchange Quarterly Spring 2001: Volume 5, Issue 1

Assessing the Effectiveness of ProblemBased Learning in Higher Education: Lessons from the Literature Claire H. Major, University of Alabama Betsy Palmer, University of Iowa Major is an assistant professor of higher education administration. <cmajor@bamaed.ua.edu>. Palmer is an assistant professor in the Counseling, Rehabilitation and Student Development department <betsypalmer@uiowa.edu>. Abstract
ProblemBased Learning (PBL) is an innovative educational approach that is gaining prominence in higher education. A review of the literature of PBL outcomes summarizes, across multiple studies, the positive effects of problembased learning. Since PBL brings with it unique challenges to traditional assessment, however, this study suggests alternative approaches. Alternative assessment may provide additional insight into the effectiveness of PBL and other alternative pedagogies. Introduction
Traditional instruction, such as the typical lecturebased session that developed before textbooks were massproduced, often involves delivering as much information as possible as quickly as possible. The lecture method was one of the most effective and efficient ways to disseminate information and has often been used for this end. Because many faculty members are poor lecturers, and because students are often poor participants in the lecture, this type of instruction has often allowed students to be passive in the classroom. Students, not knowing how to be active participants in the lecture, have relied on transcription, memorization, and repetition for learning. In recent decades, however, we have learned a great deal from cognitive science research about the nature of learning. Students construct knowledge; they do not take it in as it is disseminated, but rather