Interdisciplinary Problem-based Learning Research Articles

Towards transformative learning: students’ disorienting dilemmas and coping strategies in interdisciplinary problem-based learning

ABSTRACT Universities globally are called to educate collaborative and ethical engineers. In response, interdisciplinary problem-based learning is increasingly used to equip students with competencies needed to solve grand societal challenges. However, complex problem-solving in interdisciplinary teams can challenge students’ existing beliefs and cause confusion. Our study examines these challenges through the lens of ‘disorienting dilemmas’ from transformative learning theory and investigates students’ coping strategies. Through twenty-nine student interviews, we uncovered disorienting dilemmas related to self-identity, problem-solving, disciplinary perceptions, conceptual understanding, and collaboration. Additionally, based on varied cognitive and behavioural responses, we identified four coping strategies: integrating, investigating, negotiating, and withdrawing. Notably, we observed shifts in students’ use of coping strategies. Our research advances transformative learning theory through its focus on shared learning and the recognition of diversity of coping strategies, thus providing insights for designing supports that guide students towards more constructive strategies and facilitate transformative learning.

Interdisciplinary Pedagogy through Problem-Based Learning

This case study piloted an interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning course, utilizing Hung’s (2006) 3C3R model. We explain the course design, curriculum, and implementation. We collected qualitative written questionnaires from students who participated in the course to investigate their learning experiences. As a result, students shed light on lessons they learned throughout the course, which led to the creation of a lessons learned guide for future instructors. This guide encompasses 8 lessons that were gleaned by both qualitative student feedback and instructor reflections from the course. These lessons include allocating in-class time to work on projects, using a modular approach in the course design, presenting students with real-life problems related to the topic of the course, providing in-class case studies for students to get acquainted with examples of previous work, grouping students from diverse academic backgrounds together when possible, utilizing online and librarian resources, surveying the classroom on their comfort with self-directed learning beforehand, and including a self-reflection piece at the end of the course.

Improving Students’ Oral Communication Skills Through an Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Opportunity in a Sport Management Course

This study adopted several pedagogical foundations to determine if an interdisciplinary, problem-based learning (PBL) opportunity applied to teaching sport marketing would improve student’ individual and group oral communication skills. Faculty from two departments collaborated to create an assignment that was a hands-on class project designed around formative assessment, lecture intervention, and final PBL deliverable. The PBL and interdisciplinary design addressed the need for enhanced communication skills in the sport management industry. The study results indicate a successful development of the students’ data analysis and presentation skills. Findings confirm an interdisciplinary approach to PBL by implementing communication skill development across disciplines.

Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning in Gerontological Nursing

Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning in Gerontological Nursing

Developing interdisciplinary understanding and dialogue between Engineering and Architectural students: design and evaluation of a problem-based learning module

ABSTRACT Engineers and Architects require effective communication and interdisciplinary team working to be successful throughout their career which, is often overlooked during formal undergraduate education. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the novel design and evaluation of a module on communication and interdisciplinary team working in the combined teaching of undergraduate Engineering and Architecture students. An Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning (IPBL) approach is used and the theoretical construct for this work is the application of dialogical theory to the shared habitus between engineers and architects. The constructivist theory of learning was employed in the design and delivery of this module. It is an action research pedagogical intervention to support the improvement in the teaching and learning of communications and teamwork between architects and engineers. Feedback shows students identified improvement in their communication and teamwork skills at the end of the module.

The Role of Interdisciplinarity in Bringing PBL to traditional Universities: Opportunities and Challenges on the Organizational, Team and Individual Level


 
 
 Problem-based learning (PBL) has emerged as a suitable approach to shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered educa-tion. However, higher education institutions (HEIs) experience obstacles stemming from lecturers’ and students’ reservations as well as organizational challenges. Following action research, the author reflects on her implementation of interdisciplinary PBL within one exemplar case study to explore opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinarity in the transition toward a PBL curriculum in a traditional HEI. At the organizational level, interdisciplinarity facilitates collective knowledge creation about PBL by providing interdisciplinary learning spaces and in-house training. At the team level, lecturers as well as students can collectively learn about PBL. At the individual level, interdisciplinary student-to-student and lecturer-to-lecturer learning can enhance personal knowledge about PBL. Monodisciplinary structures, discipline-based differences in teaching and knowledge traditions, as well as individual prejudices are sources of challenges associated with interdisciplinarity in organizational learning.
 
 

The Learning Experiences of Medical and Pharmacy Students Participating in Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Small-group Discussions

Purpose: The objective of this study was to use qualitative analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) small-group discussion. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to select fourth-year medical students and fifth-year pharmacy students who attended a 2016 pathological and pharmacological PBL-based small-group discussion course at a college of medicine in Taiwan. The researchers conducted a semi-structured interview with each student after class. The pre-designed questions aimed to explore how peers from different schools affected one another's learning experiences. Recordings were transcribed and the interview data reviewed and analyzed. Enrollment was discontinued as the data reached saturation (i.e., obtaining a comprehensive understanding by continuing to sample until no new substantive information is acquired). Results: A total of 17 medical students and 5 pharmacy students were interviewed. The medical students believed that co-learning with the pharmacy students had many advantages. These advantages included sharing clinical experiences that complemented their learning, facilitating communications across trainees in different professions, gaining an understanding about the work of their future partners, and encouraging each other in constructive competition. The pharmacy students believed that attending classes with the medical students motivated them to double their efforts to keep pace, learn new information to complement one another's knowledge, demonstrate the power of clinical internship experiences, and gain familiarity with future work partners. Conclusion: The introduction of an interdisciplinary PBL small-group discussion course into the basic science curriculum enabled the medical and pharmacy students to develop an atmosphere of constructive competition, complement each other's knowledge, and experience mutual assistance, communication, and cooperation.

Health Care Transformation: An Academic Application System Case Study

Abstract During the 1st Semester of 2017, at the Brazilian Aeronautics Institute of Technology (Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica - ITA), a successful Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning (IPBL) experience took place. At that time, almost 30 undergraduate and graduate students from 3 different courses within just 17 academic weeks had the opportunity of conceptualizing, modeling, and developing a Computer System based on Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), and other emerging technologies for government and private organizations. The purpose of this system was to aggregate data from actors such as Patients, Physicians, Hospitals, and Health Care Suppliers, by integrating them into just one decision making process. This academic research project was named in Portuguese as Solucoes Tecnologicas Aplicaveis as Midias e Produtos em Saude - STAMPS, meaning in English Technological Solutions Applicable for Health Care - TSA4HC. It was planned to allow students to develop health care decision making systems to address crisis management scenarios such as epidemics. Differently from other existing systems from Universities, Research Centers, Governmental Agencies, Public and/or Private, this system was developed and tested in just 17 academic calendar weeks, applying the Scrum agile method and its best practices. This experience was stored in a Google site and implemented as a Proof of Concept (PoC). It represents one example of how to address the old problem of teaching, learning, designing, and implementing complex intelligent systems to solve health care system problems, by collaboratively using the Scrum agile method with Python or Java, Spark, NoSQL databases, Kafka, and other available technologies.

How to Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning

How to Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning

From saying to doing interdisciplinary learning: Is problem-based learning the answer?

Problem-based learning is often characterised as an approach encompassing interdisciplinary learning; however, little attention has been explicitly paid to what a claim of interdisciplinary problem-based learning means in practice. Even less attention has been given to address the consequences of interdisciplinary problem-based learning for students, teachers and institutions of higher education. This article examines the intentions and principles of interdisciplinary learning and problem-based learning, respectively. This examination reveals considerable overlaps of the two perspectives which, it is argued, make problem-based learning a potentially compelling pedagogical practice conducive for students’ learning across disciplines. The second part of this article addresses three distinct barriers which need to be addressed in order to realise the potentials of interdisciplinary learning in problem-based settings. These barriers are related to the organisation of curriculum, developing student competencies to navigate with interdisciplinary problems and developing teacher competencies to meet student’s needs. The conclusion is that interdisciplinary learning cannot be taken for granted in problem-based settings, and only if issues of interdisciplinary learning are specifically addressed can problem-based learning be considered a pedagogical approach adequately scaffolding interdisciplinary learning in higher education. Consequently, more research is needed to fully comprehend the potentials of problem-based learning as conducive for interdisciplinary learning. Particularly, research into the scaffolding of interdisciplinary learning in problem-based learning is required.

Evaluation of creative problem-solving abilities in undergraduate structural engineers through interdisciplinary problem-based learning

ABSTRACTFor a structural engineer, effective communication and interaction with architects cannot be underestimated as a key skill to success throughout their professional career. Structural engineers and architects have to share a common language and understanding of each other in order to achieve the most desirable architectural and structural designs. This interaction and engagement develops during their professional career but needs to be nurtured during their undergraduate studies. The objective of this paper is to present the strategies employed to engage higher order thinking in structural engineering students in order to help them solve complex problem-based learning (PBL) design scenarios presented by architecture students. The strategies employed were applied in the experimental setting of an undergraduate module in structural engineering at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK. The strategies employed were active learning to engage with content knowledge, the use of physical conceptual structural models to reinforce key concepts and finally, reinforcing the need for hand sketching of ideas to promote higher order problem-solving. The strategies employed were evaluated through student survey, student feedback and module facilitator (this author) reflection. The strategies were qualitatively perceived by the tutor and quantitatively evaluated by students in a cross-sectional study to help interaction with the architecture students, aid interdisciplinary learning and help students creatively solve problems (through higher order thinking). The students clearly enjoyed this module and in particular interacting with structural engineering tutors and students from another discipline.

Live From Boone Lake: Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Meets Public Science Writing

Live From Boone Lake: Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Meets Public Science Writing

Encouraging active learning when teaching geospatial sciences

In today’s world, higher education, especially in technical sciences, is crucial when speaking about a change in values and attitudes towards sustainability. Engaging students in learning and training process as well as developing their research skills and creative capacity is challenging. This study inquiries into the current academic activities and role of used educational technologies and methodologies for encouraging active learning in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs when teaching any engineering course in general, and geospatial sciences in particular. The result of the study suggests the importance of interdisciplinary project and problem-based learning, building partnership with universities, students and industrial companies, monitoring, developing, and implementation of new educational technologies.

Students’ Experiences in Interdisciplinary Problem-based Learning: A Discourse Analysis of Group Interaction

Interdisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) aims to provide students with opportunities to develop the necessary skills to work with different health professionals in a collaborative manner. This discourse study examined the processes of collective knowledge construction in Japanese students in the tutorials. Analyses of video-recorded data elicited from three multidisciplinary cohorts and their learning portfolios provided insights into their participation and introspection during the discussions. The results indicate there were two patterns of knowledge construction: (a) co-constructions between students from different disciplines and (b) elaborations between students from the same discipline. Their learning processes were mediated by their cultural assumptions, professional identities, understanding of other professionals, and perceptions of collaborative learning. The finding suggests that interdisciplinary PBL has the potential to enhance students’ collaborative learning skills, and students’ participation is situated within a cultural context.

Mrs. Gutierrez: Twelve Years After Bariatric Surgery

OPEN ACCESSJanuary 19, 2014Mrs. Gutierrez: Twelve Years After Bariatric Surgery Carla Lupi, MD, Anthony Oliva, Ansley Splinter Carla Lupi, MD Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Google Scholar More articles by this author , Anthony Oliva Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Google Scholar More articles by this author , Ansley Splinter Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.9666 SectionsAbout ToolsDownload Citations ShareFacebookTwitterEmail AbstractAbstract Introduction: This interdisciplinary problem-based learning case for third-year and advanced second-year students describes a woman urgently referred from her primary care provider to a neurologist several years after bariatric surgery. Learners will move through the unfolding diagnostic reasoning of a rare condition that presents identically to a common one, considering the importance of monitoring response to therapy as a means of confirming the original diagnosis, and the use of non-response to therapy as a trigger for reevaluation of that diagnosis. Methods: This case provides the opportunity for students to “take the history” from the facilitator rather than simply receive predetermined information. It also invites students to review emerging guidelines on the long-term care of this growing population of patients, consider occupational exposures, and the use of the history to determine the likelihood of heavy menses as the cause of anemia in a woman. Advanced learners may also consider issues of cost-effectiveness of the diagnostic work-up, the communication challenge of explaining highly uncertain prognosis, ethical issues in the ongoing care of patients who lose insurance coverage, and best practices for the education and follow-up of these patients. Results: We have formally surveyed 39 third-year students immediately after the session. All 39 students agreed or strongly agreed that this case improved their understanding of basic science concepts related to nutrition. Thirty-seven students agreed or strongly agreed that this case improved their understanding of the effects of different types of bariatric surgery on nutritional needs. All 39 students agreed or strongly agreed that the case was believable. Discussion: We have used this case with students on the neurology clerkship at our institution for a cross-clerkship curriculum designed to help students integrate basic science into their rapidly-expanding clinical learning. Other curricular needs prompting us to write this case were in the areas of nutrition, reflection on diagnostic reasoning, and the care of the rapidly growing postbariatric surgery population. Educational Objectives By the end of this resource, learners will be able to: Develop a differential diagnosis for anemia in a woman using the kinetic approach (production, hemolysis, and blood loss) and/or the morphologic approach (microcytic, normocytic, and macrocytic).Interpret the laboratory tests used in the work-up of anemia, including the variations in correlation of B12 and folate levels with clinical symptoms.Develop and reason a differential diagnosis for combined vestibular and sensory abnormalities.Describe the types of bariatric surgery and their risks for nutritional deficiencies.Review the current recommendations for management of nutrition and supplementation in the postbariatric patient.Describe the central and peripheral demyelinating disorders as well as clinical manifestations for the disruption of sensory and motor pathways.Explain the specific biochemical roles of vitamins and minerals in hematopoiesis.Describe the absorption of vitamins and minerals important in hematopoiesis and nerve function as well as the mechanisms of their deficiencies in the postbariatric patient.Explain the mechanism of nephrolithiasis in the postbariatric surgery patient. Sign up for the latest publications from MedEdPORTAL Add your email below FILES INCLUDEDReferencesRelatedDetails FILES INCLUDED Included in this publication: Instructor's Guide.pdf Facilitator Version.pdf Student Version.pdf Student Learning Survey.pdf PBL Rubric.pdf To view all publication components, extract (i.e., unzip) them from the downloaded .zip file. Download editor’s noteThis publication may contain technology or a display format that is no longer in use. Copyright & Permissions© 2014 Lupi et al. This is an open-access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike license.KeywordsMyelopathySpinal Cord DiseasesCopperMultiple SclerosisDiagnostic ReasoningVitamin B 12NutritionFolateBariatric SurgeryWomen's Health CareGuidelinesAnemiaFolic AcidOccupational Diseases Disclosures None to report. Funding/Support None to report. Loading ...

Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning in Gerontology: A Plan of Action

Issues of older adults are often ill-structured and complex, requiring the application of insights from different disciplines to be adequately addressed. Gerontology has often used a multidisciplinary rather than an integrated interdisciplinary approach. Interdisciplinary and problem-based learning (PBL) provide pedagogical tools which teach gerontology students skills for understanding and resolving gerontological issues. The paper presents the concepts of interdisciplinarity and problem-based learning, the types of interdisciplinarity (interdisciplinarity at micro and macro levels of analysis, interdisciplinarity with different attributes of the same unit of analysis), learning outcomes of interdisciplinarity and problem-based learning, the incorporation of interdisciplinary problem-based learning in academic programs, steps of interdisciplinary problem-based study of a gerontological issue, and directions for the future study of this approach.

Integration of Persons With HIV in a Problem-Based Tutorial: A Qualitative Study

Background: This qualitative study examined the effect of using persons with HIV-AIDS (PHAs) as facilitators of learning in an interdisciplinary problem-based learning curriculum. Description: Ten students representing 5 professions (medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, and social work) volunteered to participate in an 8-week course on rehabilitation issues in HIV. Two tutorial groups met weekly to discuss problems with the assistance of a faculty tutor and a PHA. Students completed a weekly journal outlining their experiences. At completion of the course, students participated in semistructured interviews. A qualitative analysis of the transcribed interviews and the journals was undertaken. Evaluation: The PHA provided a unique perspective on living with HIV, acted as a resource, and challenged the students' values and assumptions. The presence of the PHA also presented challenges in that the students worried their comments might offend them. Conclusions: PHAs contributed significantly to students' learning and can be successfully incorporated into problem-based tutorials.

Effects of problem-based learning curricula on faculty learning: new lenses, new questions.

Literature on the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education has short-changed important questions about the effect of PBL curricula on faculty learning and on faculty knowledge of their subject matter. This paper opens up new questions about the impact of PBL in medical colleges and other health sciences by focusing attention on its effects on faculty learning, on collegial networks in medical colleges, and, consequently, on other scholarly work by faculty. A brief review of research on the effects of PBL on faculty and faculty development is followed by a synthesis of relevant research findings from research on teaching and faculty learning in other disciplines. A new conceptual framework, drawn from the educational paradigms, methods and empirical findings from those other areas of higher education research and research on secondary school teaching, is applied to designing, examining, and evaluating problem-based learning. Viewing faculty as learners prompts a new research agenda including questions such as: What do faculty members learn by participating in integrative, interdisciplinary problem-based learning courses? How? How is that learning related to or integrated with other aspects of their scholarly work?

An Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Project for Assistive Technology Education

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation, and outcomes of an extended problem-based learning project imbedded in an interdisciplinary assistive technology course. Students representing four health care disciplines worked together in small groups to address the complex needs of clients with significant issues regarding assistive technology (seating and mobility, augmentative communication, and computer access) and adaptive function. Problem-based learning was seen as a way to enhance the students' clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills and provide a “real life” treatment in a team experience. Formal and informal course evaluation results yielded qualitative data that reflected highly favorable impressions of the problem-based learning project, as well as suggestions for the future.