Revitalising PBL groups: evaluating PBL with study teams.

Abstract

CONTEXT: In problem-based learning (PBL), students are actively engaged with psychological learning principles as activation of prior knowledge, elaboration and organization of knowledge. In their tutorial groups, however, students do not always apply these principles when working with a procedure like the "Seven-Jump" method. To stimulate students to use these principles more often, they were offered another format within a PBL context: PBL with study teams. During the period of self-study, students work on a regular basis in so-called study teams, small groups of 3-4 persons. In these groups they explain to each other their learning outcomes, clarify for each other their problems while studying texts and organize their knowledge to present this to the members of other study teams in their tutorial group. Previous research showed that students spent more time on self-study in a PBL with study team condition than in a traditional PBL context. In this study the achievement as well as appreciation of students participating in a PBL with study teams' environment, is compared with students working in a traditional PBL environment. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether PBL with study teams differs from the traditional PBL environment in students' appreciation and study time. METHODS: We conducted an experiment in two blocks over two years. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on appreciation and time for self-study. RESULTS: Students' appreciation of the two formats did not differ much. The large standard deviations indicate considerable differences in appreciation between individual students. Appreciation was slightly higher in the second experiment when instructions about how to collaborate were less strict. Students devoted twice as many hours studying in the study group format compared with the traditional PBL format. CONCLUSIONS: The students indicated that they enjoyed the format but that the increased workload disturbed their customary study rhythm. Assessment scores and tutors'impressions suggest that study teams foster deeper learning for understanding. Whether this can be attributed to more intensive individual and collaborative elaboration activities should be the subject of further studies.