09/20/2026 12:00:00 AM

Back to A Different Lens

Problem-based learning is usually described by its structure, students working through an open-ended real-world problem instead of a lecture. Read as its origin, it began as a complaint: Barrows and Tamblyn's 1960s medical students at McMaster University found the vast amount of material in traditional preclinical coursework had little visible connection to the actual practice of medicine.

The Problem Comes First on Purpose

Putting the problem before the knowledge is the direct answer to that complaint. Working in small groups, students identify what they already know, what they still need to learn, and where to find it, so the problem itself supplies the reason to learn a fact rather than the fact arriving first and waiting for a use.

Research on the approach found clear positive effects on physician competence, especially social and cognitive competencies such as coping with uncertainty and communication skills, exactly the competencies a lecture on stated facts has no occasion to build, though the method is resource-intensive, requiring more staff, space and facilitation than a lecture course.

Where To Read More

• Problem-Based LearningActive and Experiential Learning StrategiesProblem-Based Learning, the subject entity of this essay
• Howard S. BarrowsCurriculum and Instructional Design TheoristsHoward S. Barrows, credited with originating problem-based learning at McMaster