Introduction
PBL (Problem-based learning) is a student-centered education based on real-world application. It was pioneered by Howard Barrows, an American professor of neurology, in the medical school program at McMaster University in Canada in 1969. It emphasized on setting studies into complex and significant problem scenarios through the cooperation of students to solve real problems. PBL aims to discover the hidden scientific facts behind the issues and to improve the problem-solving skills and independent learning abilities. The fundamental aspects contained in the implementation of PBL process include assembling a team, getting a new problem, follow-up activities, activity reporting, and reflection after the whole process is done (Delisle, 1997).
After the emergence of the PBL pedagogy, it was propagated and improved in more than 60 medical schools, from the original field of medical education to other areas of education, from training graduate students to the area of primary school, secondary and university education (Delisle, 1997). Currently, a survey indicated that there are 130 medical schools in North America that had introduced or prepared to launch the PBL pedagogy, which accounts for 86.2% of the institutions surveyed (Barell, 2006). It is clear that the PBL pedagogy has been accepted in North America.
The basic elements of the PBL are as follows:
1. Initially, a ‘problem’ is used as a starting-point for learning. Then, the whole learning content is based on the ‘problem’ as the main spindle of the architecture.
2. The ‘problem’ must be a ‘real world,’ unstructured problem that students may encounter in their future professional field. There has been no set method and solving process.
3. Group cooperative learning and autonomic learning is emphasized. Through community and teamwork, students can improve their problem-solving competence and