Department of Restorative Dentistry and Periodontology, Dublin Dental School & Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Eur J Dent Educ. 2010 Feb;14(1):55-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0579.2009.00593.x.
Problem based learning (PBL) arguably represents the most significant development in education over the past five decades. It has been promoted as the curriculum of choice, and since its introduction in the 1960's, has been widely adopted by many medical and dental schools. PBL has been the subject of much published literature but ironically, very little high quality evidence exists to advocate its efficacy and subsequently justify the widespread curriculum change. The purpose of this review is to classify and interpret the available evidence and extract relevant conclusions. In addition, it is the intent to propose recommendations regarding the relative benefits of PBL compared with conventional teaching. The literature was searched using PubMed, ERIC and PsycLIT. Further articles were retrieved from the reference lists of selected papers. Articles were chosen and included according to specific selection criteria. Studies were further classified as randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or comparative studies. These studies were then analysed according to intervention type: whole curricula comparisons and single educational interventions of shorter duration. At the level of RCTs and comparative studies (whole curricula), no clear difference was observed between PBL and conventional teaching. Paradoxically, it was only comparative studies of single PBL intervention in a traditional curriculum that yielded results that were consistently in favour of PBL. Further research is needed to investigate the possibility that multiple PBL interventions in a traditional curriculum could be more effective than an exclusively PBL programme. In addition, it is important to address the potential benefits of PBL in relation to life-long learning of health care professionals.
问题式学习（PBL）可以说是过去五十年教育领域最重要的发展。它被宣传为首选课程，自 20 世纪 60 年代引入以来，已被许多医学和牙科学院广泛采用。PBL 已经成为大量出版文献的主题，但具有讽刺意味的是，几乎没有高质量的证据可以证明其疗效，并因此证明广泛的课程改革是合理的。本综述的目的是对现有证据进行分类和解释，并得出相关结论。此外，还旨在就 PBL 与传统教学相比的相对优势提出建议。使用 PubMed、ERIC 和 PsycLIT 搜索文献。从选定论文的参考文献中检索到更多文章。根据具体的选择标准选择和纳入文章。研究进一步分为随机对照试验（RCT）或比较研究。然后根据干预类型对这些研究进行分析：整个课程比较和持续时间较短的单一教育干预。在 RCT 和比较研究（整个课程）的水平上，PBL 和传统教学之间没有明显差异。具有讽刺意味的是，只有在传统课程中进行单一 PBL 干预的比较研究才得出一致有利于 PBL 的结果。需要进一步研究以探讨在传统课程中进行多次 PBL 干预是否比纯 PBL 方案更有效。此外，重要的是要解决 PBL 对医疗保健专业人员终身学习的潜在益处。
