IT instruments for Problem Based Learning in Undergraduate Medical Education

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Tudor Calinici

Abstract

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is one of the many alternative methods that can be used in medical education. There are different
views about its advantages and limitations, but the added value of this method is well recognized. PBL helps students develop
team working and collaboration. It is useful to have an IT solution to support the PBL process. The goal of this research was to
identify a web application which would implement the facilities necessary for Problem Based Learning at the curriculum level;
secure, providing a collaborative environment, availability and easy to use. A PBL scenario was developed and a demo for
Problem Base Learning session was conducted. The participants were students enrolled in first year at Faculty of Medicine, and
the Problem Based Learning topic was biostatistics. We use Moodle as IT support for Problem Based Learning process. A Problem
Based Learning session took place and it was a success. The students had no problem using the on-line interface and the general
conclusion was that Moodle is a viable option to be used as support for PBL sessions. Moodle seems to be an appropriate Web
2.0 instrument to be used as support for Problem Based Learning. It is very important to recognize that Moodle is just a tool
which facilitates learning but not a guarantee of the success. The success of the Problem Based Learning method in medical
education is in the involvement of the students, in the skills of the facilitator and in the quality of the clinical scenario.
Keywords: problem based learning; e-learning; Moodle

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