Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational innovation for greater diversity and engagement in learning. PBL diversifies learning by catering for interdisciplinary knowledge application and multiple perspectives in problem solving. It also enhances engagement through more independent learning, peer learning and teamwork in problem solving with possibilities of future learning technologies.
This book has resulted from a number of challenges and concerns that have emerged from both being a facilitator on various problem-based learning programmes and equipping other tutors to become facilitators. As a lecturer and researcher in higher education and as a consultant to those wishing to implement problem-based learning, I have developed a range of strategies, practices and perspectives about what appears to help and hinder the facilitation of problembased learning.
Problem-based learning is an approach to learning that continues to grow and develop and the variations in its use still tend to cause much debate in higher education. The idea for this book emerged out of discussions with colleagues about the need for the problem-based learning community to illustrate such variety in a research-based text. It is a book that does not present a single view about what counts as problem-based learning, nor does it offer ideal ways of undertaking it in a module, course or programme.
