Approaches to cell biology teaching: learning content in context--problem-based learning.

Abstract

In answering the call of the American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science (1990) that “science should be taughtas science is practiced at is best,” science faculty across thecountry have systematically begun to infuse their skills, per-spectives, and experiences as scientists into the instructionalapproaches they select for their undergraduate classrooms.Problem-based learning (PBL), which diffused into under-graduate science instruction from the medical school settingover 10 years ago, is one of those approaches. Use of PBL inthe undergraduate setting has steadily grown in popularityover the past decade (Samford University, PBL Initiative), atleastinpartbecauseitsinquiry-drivennatureandunderlyingphilosophies resonate with these comments from the recentBoyer Commission Report (1998) on undergraduate educa-tion at research universities: