Definition of PBL

Another type of system is spoon feeding

Although most med schools are trying to move out of this method of teaching now.

 

taken from the John Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) website:

Curriculum Features and
Learning Methods

The PBL curriculum has the following key features:

Knowledge is acquired in problem-based modules.
Self-directed learning is fostered in small group tutorials.
Students are actively involved in the learning process, not simply passive recipients of information.
The small group leaders function as facilitators of learning.
Content experts function as resources to the learning process.
Laboratory exercises, demonstrations, the library, and audio-visual computer centers supplement faculty input.
Basic sciences are learned in the context of solving clinical problems.
There are few discipline-specific courses.
Students are trained to think critically and to evaluate new information and research data.
Evaluation of students is based on competence in a variety of problem-solving exercises.

ome of the learning method terms frequently utilized are:

Self-directed learning
Problem-based learning (not to be confused with problem-solving)
Small group learning (tutorials)
Community-oriented learning
Student-centered learning (as opposed to teacher-centered learning)


...i'm looking forward to learning in a PBL environment if i get in JABSOM hopefully

 

It's good to know about the different type of curricula, but dude, you're not (or I should say, you shouldn't) pick a school based on its curriculum. In the end, it is almost irrelevant. I go to a school that has some PBL, where the thought is that all-PBL is a bad idea. You end up learning through cases when you haven't established a firm background in any given area, and you don't pick up all of the important concepts.