Problem based learning is a student-centered instructional strategy where students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. It emphasizes using real-life problems as the starting point for acquiring and integrating new knowledge. Students work in small groups facilitated by an instructor to identify learning objectives and conduct self-directed learning on those objectives. The process involves presenting students with a problem scenario, having them identify what is known and unknown to solve the problem, develop learning goals, conduct independent research, report back findings, and apply new knowledge to understanding the problem. Research has found that PBL can improve skills development, clinical education outcomes, and critical thinking in nursing students.

1. PROBLEM BASED LEARNING
Nandita Tiwari
Msc. Nursing Ist year

2. INTRODUCTION
The goal of nursing education is to prepare nurses who are
knowledgeable, competent and caring.
Problem based learning is student centred instructional strategy
in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on
their experiences. Problem based learning (PBL)emphasizes on
problems as a starting point of acquisition and integration of
new knowledge. This enables the trainees to learn critical
thinking and problem solving skills which is very essential in
nursing practice. Problem based learning is student-centred .It
makes a fundamental shift from focus on teaching to focus on
learning. It is a educational strategy which uses material that is
as close as possible to real life as a stimulus for learning.

3. DEFINITION
Problem based learning is a curriculum development and instructional method that places the
student in an active role as a problem solver confronted with ill-structured, real life problems.
BY- JOHN DEWEY
Problem based learning uses clinical problems and professional issues as the focus for integrating
all content necessary for clinical practice.

4. It is most commonly characterized by five facets:
ill structured
problems
Real
significance
Student
Led
Community
focussed
Illustator
facilitated

6. COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF PROBLEM- BASED LEARNING
o Initial analysis of the problem and activation of prior knowledge
through small group discussion.
o Elaboration on prior knowledge and active processing of new
information.
o Restructuring of knowledge
o Social knowledge construction.
o Learning in context
o Stimulation of curiosity related to presentation of a relevant
problem

7. PROBLEM BASED LEARNING WITH OPPORTUNITIES
 Examine and try out what you know
 Discover what you need to learn
 Develop your people skills for achieving higher performance in teams
 Improve your communication skills
 State and defend positions with evidence and sound argument
 Become more flexible in processing information and meeting obligation
 Practice skill that you will need after your education.

8. PRINCIPLES OF PBL
• Understanding is built through which what one experiences
• Meaning is created from the efforts to answer one’s own questions and solve one’s own problems
• It appeals to student’s natural instincts to investigate and create.
• It is based on real life problems
• The student is the focus of educational program, not the teacher, the curriculum or the curriculum
contents
• The development of his/her learning capacities is emphasized
• The problems presented in the curriculum trigger the students abilities to analyse to understand and
to solve. The student will memorize knowledge obtained in this way much better than by content-
based learning.
• Cooperation with others and importance of communication is emphasized
• Working on interdisciplinary problems or projects is part of any curriculum
• Much attention is paid to the development of practical, the development of analytical and creative
thinking

9. AIMS /GOALS OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING
General goals
• Construct an extensive and flexible knowledge base
• Faster increased retention of knowledge
• Develop effective problem-solving skills
• Develop self-directed lifelong learning skills
• Strengthens students’ intrinsic motivation to learn
• Develop to encounter relevant health problems an appreciation for the individualized
nature of physical biological and behavioural mechanism
• Acquire the knowledge base necessary to define the health problems of patients
• Reinforce the development of effective clinical reasoning process
SAVIN BADEN (1996) listed three key reasons of PBL;
• FIRST REASON- to develop “skills” (clinical reasoning skills)
• SECOND REASON- learning should take place in “CONTEXT” for students
• THIRD REASON- promotion of self-directed learning

10. Specific goals
• PROBLEM SOLVING- problem is given to student prior to any form of
input. Problem based learning start with problem and the students
have to find out what they need to know in order to solve it.
• SELF DIRECTED LEARNING- learner should be given opportunity to
develop self-directed learners rather than become teacher
dependence
• SMALL GROUP LEARNING- it helps to put students at centre of
things; to allow opportunities for face-to-face interaction with other
group members in order to exchange ideas and feelings; to be
challenged by other personal point of view.
• CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS- critical thinking, identifying and
challenging assumptions. They develop ability to imagine and
exploring alternatives to solve any type of problem.
• INTEGRATION OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF CURRICULUM- common
themes unite various subjects and emphasis on breadth of coverage.

11. PREPARATION AND CONDUCT OF PBL:
• A PBL consists of a group of students usually 8 to 10 and a tutor as facilitator.
• The length of time that a group stays together with each other and individual tutors.
• A group needs to be together long enough to allow good group dynamics to develop.
• Students elect a chair for each PBL scenario and a “recorder” to discussion.
• The roles are rotated for each scenario
• Suitable flip cards and a whiteboard are needed for recording the proceeding.
• At start of the session, either student chair reads out the scenario or all students study the material
• If trigger is the real patient in ward clinics or community then a student must be asked to take clinical history
or identify abnormal physical sign before the group moves to the ward teaching room.
• For each subunit, students may be given handbook containing the problem scenario and suggest the learning
resources or material must behanded at appropriate times as the tutorial progress. Books journals internet
peers experts are resources of PBL
• At end of the each case, the facilitator gives feedback to group and takes feedback from group using format.
• The feedback format includes critical appraisal, self-directed learning skills, group participation
humanistic attitudes and overall evaluation of topic.

12. STEPS OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING
STEP 1- PRESENTATION OF PROBLEM
• The teacher as facilitator should present the problem scenario.
• Resources are – paper based clinical scenario , stimulated patient, laboratory data, photos newspaper
and other multimedia sources. It requires careful preparation and is time consuming. The problem
statement must be-
• Developmentally appropriate and well structured
• Grounded in student experience
• Curriculum based
• Accommodated by variety of teachings and learning strategies and styles.
STEP 2- DEVELOPING A PBL SCENARIO
Problem should describe the situation or phenomenon set in real context which the students require
students to explain or resolve the issue.

13. Criteria for PBL scenario-
• Title should be brief and not a hint
• Confined
• Confined
• Should have neutral description
• Understandable language with medical terms
• Should balance between available time and study load
Characteristics of PBL scenario
• Learning objectives defined by students should be synchronized with faculty learning objectives
• Problems should be appropriate to stage of curriculum and level of student understanding.
• Should integrate the knowledge
• Scenarios should contain cues to stimulate group discussion and encourage students to seek explanation for issue
presented
• Should have holistic approach

14. STEP 3- IDENTIFYING THE KEY INFORMATION
In this step, students as a group understand what the problem is all about. They identify; What
are the issues? What are known? What is the situation? This involves discussing about the issues
and clarifying the needs. They clarify what is known and what is unknown. Brain storming seeks
help in this stage.
STEP 4- DEVELOPMENT OF OBJECTIVES
The group has to formulate the learning objectives in order to solve the problem. The teacher
helps in understanding the objectives and formulation of the objectives and resources. Each
group identifies the role in finding the solution for problem . The identification gaps in
knowledge helps students to define their learning objectives and these become focus of self-
directed study in interval between tutorials. At each tutorial, the group might identify three or five
major learning objectives.
STEP 5- GO AND LEARN
Everybody in the group goes away to research all the learning objectives by using all resources
specifically with focussed approach. A time limit is set by group under guidance of facilitator and
time of feedback is fixed.

15. STEP 6- REPORTING BACK
In this step, all team members come and present what they searched and learned with
regard to the problem. All learning needs identified and are clarified by members.
Students reconvene to report on their self directed study and share and integrate new
knowledge. The exchange and debate of ideas promote consolidation and elaboration of
new knowledge and understanding.
STEP 7- PRESANTATION
The group presents to the facilitator the content they learned as per objectives formulated
and the solution to problem. The facilitator listen them carefully and make corrections
required .The final presentation to make everyone to recall and synthesize what they
have learned.
STEP 8- INTEGRATION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE
It is last step in PBL process where the students are expected to apply whatever they have
learnt in relation to problem in real life situation.

16. ROLE OF FACILITATOR IN PBL
• Promotes reflective thinking
• May ask question regarding the problem and queries which
they do not understand as well as questions about the
decisions they have made concerning the problem.
• The role of facilitator is to facilitate proceedings and to ensure
the group achieves appropriate to the curriculum facilitator
may ensure that all students have done appropriate work and
to help the chair to suggest a suitable format for group
members to use to present the results of their individual
study.
• Must check the students understanding of material by
encouraging them to asl open questions and by asking each
of them to explain topics in their own words or by use of
drawings/diagrams/PowerPoint presentation.
• Teacher is the backbone of PBL.
• Facilitates learning by being a guide instead of dispensing
knowledge.
ROLE OF STUDENTS
• Prompt and present for all sessions
• Has knowledge of process of PBL
• Commitment to self/student directed
learning
• Active participation in discussion and
critical thinking while contributing toa
friendly, non-intimidating
environment.

17. ROLE OF GROUP MEMBERS
• Facilitator
• Recorder
• Reporters
• Time keepers
• Devil’s advocate
• Harmonizer
• Prioritizer
• Explorer
• Innovator
• Checker
• Runner
• Wild card

18. BARRIERS OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING

19. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PBL

20. RESEARCH ARTICLE ON PBL
The majority of studies on the effectiveness of PBL has focused on the field of medicine. Studying
the effect of PBL in applied domains and professional education also offers new perspectives on
its influence on student learning outcomes. The field of nursing education, in particular, has
devoted a substantial amount of research to exploring the effectiveness of PBL in healthcare
training in order to prepare nursing professionals for a growing range of patient care services. A
meta-analysis of studies related to the effectiveness of PBL in nursing education revealed that
PBL has positive effects on student satisfaction with training, clinical education and skills
development. Another review of related literature on the effect of PBL on developing nursing
students’ critical thinking showed a positive relationship between the implementation of PBL as
an instructional model and improvements in critical reasoning. Many of these studies are often
localised, and their results and methods—while not necessarily generalisable—provide some
pedagogical value as guidelines for nurse educators in considering training frameworks to design
and deliver healthcare curriculum. More rigorous research is needed to further examine the
effects of PBL on student learning outcomes and performance in both academic and workplace
situations.

21. A study similarly analysed in detail how students construct their knowledge in a
PBL tutorial throughout the problem analysis and reporting phase. The discourses
of students and facilitators were examined and described to show how both groups
played important roles in the collaborative and collective knowledge building. This
study provided important insights into how an expert facilitator effectively used
open-ended metacognitive questions to facilitate students’ discussion and how
students’ collective knowledge developed throughout verbal interactions within the
PBL tutorial.
CONTND….

22. SUMMARY
Problem based learning can be explained as the learning that results from the process of
working toward the understanding or resolution of a problem. It is an instructional method
characterized by the use of patient problems as a content for students to learn problem
solving skills and acquire knowledge about basic and clinical sciences. The principles of
PBL are development of analytical and creative thinking skills, the encouragement of
cooperative learning, development of self-directed learning activity, application of
knowledge and skills with practice. The PBL session consists of a group of students
usually 8-10 members. The roles are rotated for each scenario. It is
a learning driven by challenging, open ended problems, student centred learning through
which new information is acquired. It promotes brain storming session to discuss the
problem suggest possible explanation on basis of prior knowledge so that students draw
from each other knowledge and identify areas of incomplete knowledge.

23. CONCLUSION
I, here by conclude my topic with various information of PBL IT is quite
heterogeneous and continuously evolving process. Cooperation with others and
importance of communication is emphasized. It increases the student
responsibility for self directed peer learning.it helps in developing flexible
knowledge that can be applied to different context.it promotes the development of
an effective self-directed learning skills and increased student faculty interaction is
facilitated. However, it is time consuming and group dedication towards goals is
necessary. Evaluation is quite difficult. Being resource expensive, staff and
students may initially uncomfortable with PBL.Measurments of learning outcomes
is difficult. Approaching group problems may include- listening carefully,
clarifying the issues with group, seek underlying causes, facilitate group solutions
and follow up on decisions.

24. THANK YOU