This study investigates how teachers’ own educational backgrounds shape their perceptions of education and learning within a problem- and project-based learning (PBL) environment. Drawing on a large-scale survey of 895 teaching staff at Aalborg University, we identify a consistent yet modest pattern: AAU‑educated staff place slightly greater emphasis on project-based and collaborative learning, whereas colleagues educated elsewhere assign comparatively more weight to coursework, theoretical grounding, and individual study. These differences suggest that teachers’ prior educational experiences inform pedagogical beliefs. We discuss these results in light of the idea that “teachers teach the way they were taught” and of research showing that teacher beliefs emerge from a complex interplay of prior learning experiences, disciplinary cultures, institutional norms, and workplace conditions. By situating educational background within this wider context and making these perspectives visible, the study adopts a nuanced view and contributes to discussions on faculty onboarding and diversity of teaching practices in pedagogically specific institutions, offering actionable insights for faculty development, onboarding design, and the cultivation of pedagogical cultures capable of leveraging diversity.
The aim of this study is to present the experiences and outcomes of introducing project-based learning (PBL) in higher education, with a particular focus on preparing students for the labor market. PBL was introduced on a pilot basis in the fall semester of the 2024/2025 academic year in 12 undergraduate programs at Széchenyi István University. The research employed both qualitative (interviews, “Lessons Learned” workshop) and quantitative (362-student questionnaire) methods. According to the results, PBL effectively develops skills relevant to the labor market by engaging students in tasks based on real-world problems. Instructors highlighted the benefits of active, student-centered learning, while the redesign of courses and the selection of appropriate projects emerged as challenges. Students reported positive experiences, particularly in teamwork, problem-solving, and the application of practical knowledge. The research highlights that successful PBL integration requires thorough planning, ongoing faculty support, and institutional backing.
The world is facing many wicked problems, including climate change, political polarisation, scarcity of natural resources and inequal access to quality health care and education. Education has an important role to play by equipping students with the competencies needed to navigate an unpredictable future with these systemically interwoven challenges. Next to problem-based learning, challenge-based education and transdisciplinary learning are educational approaches increasingly being implemented to better prepare students. In this theoretical paper, we demonstrate how the design principles of contextual, constructive, collaborative and self-regulated learning (CCCS) inform the student-centered approaches of problem-based learning, challenge-based education and transdisciplinary learning and prepare students to better understand wicked problems. We refer to scientific evidence behind the CCCS principles, and make a plea on how to bridge these with the three approaches to teaching. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that success of a particular approach in one context does not guarantee success elsewhere. What works best is dependent on many variables, including the intended outcomes, the particular target group of students, the assessment formats and teachers’ experiences with these approaches.
ABSTRACT Training engineers to meet the challenges of sustainable development requires integrating sustainability into technical education through applied approaches. Although Project-Based Learning (PBL) has proven effective in engineering education, its explicit alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains limited in courses such as heat transfer. This case study implemented a PBL strategy in a Heat Transfer II course, focused on the sustainable design of real thermal equipment, aiming to enhance disciplinary understanding and promote environmental awareness. Eighty-three engineering students participated, designing heat exchangers based on thermal, hydraulic, and sustainability criteria linked to specific SDGs. Projects were evaluated through technical and sustainability rubrics, a student perception survey, and comparison with a previous semester. The results revealed that the percentage of students rated at the “Very Good” level increased by 22 percentage points compared to the non-PBL semester. Moreover, 94% of students found the allotted project time adequate, and 72% reported a deep understanding of the connection between heat transfer and sustainability. These findings indicate that PBL, when framed around real technical challenges and aligned with the SDGs, is an effective pedagogical tool for fostering deep learning, transversal competencies, and the education of engineers who are aware of and committed to addressing global sustainability challenges. RESUMEN Formar ingenieros capaces de afrontar los desafíos del desarrollo sostenible implica integrar la sostenibilidad en cursos técnicos desde una perspectiva aplicada. Si bien el Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABP) ha mostrado efectividad en la enseñanza de la ingeniería, aún es escasa su articulación explícita con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en asignaturas como la transferencia de calor. Este estudio de caso implementó un ABP en el curso de Transferencia de Calor II, centrado en el diseño sostenible de equipos térmicos reales, con el fin de mejorar la comprensión disciplinar y fomentar la conciencia ambiental. Participaron 83 estudiantes de ingeniería, quienes diseñaron intercambiadores de calor considerando criterios térmicos, hidráulicos y de sostenibilidad asociados a los ODS. Los resultados fueron evaluados mediante rúbricas técnicas y de sostenibilidad, encuestas de percepción y análisis comparativo con el semestre anterior. Se evidenció que el porcentaje de estudiantes en nivel “Muy bueno” aumentó 22 puntos porcentuales respecto al semestre sin ABP. Además, el 94 % de los estudiantes consideró adecuado el tiempo asignado y el 72 % afirmó haber comprendido profundamente la relación entre transferencia de calor y sostenibilidad. Los hallazgos sugieren que el ABP orientado a problemas técnicos reales y contextualizado con los ODS es una estrategia pedagógica efectiva para fortalecer el aprendizaje profundo, las competencias transversales y la formación de ingenieros comprometidos con los retos globales.
Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model is highly recommended to frame STEM learning experiences to achieve transformative education at all levels. This qualitative phenomenological study describes the perceptions and experiences of graduate students, mostly science teachers, towards the PjBL model implemented in the graduate course they were enrolled during the academic year 2022-2023 at the College of Education of a public university of Puerto Rico. The study involved 12 graduate students, 6 master's and 6 doctoral students, who took one of the core courses of their program in Curriculum and Teaching with a subspecialty in Science Education. The findings indicate that the PjBL model was perceived as a constructivist learning model that allowed greater learning of the course content. Motivation and collaborative learning are two elements that stand out as essential to their learning process.
This article presents a design experiment in which generative artificial intelligence (GAI) was topically integrated into a Problem-based Learning module in a pedagogical study programme with the intention to generate insights for both, future GAI-in-PBL practice and theory. Based on various data (student reports, notes, a focus group interview, transcripts of teachers/researchers’ discussions), three design elements were assessed regarding their potential to help students to develop their own learning practices with GAI, and regarding how the emergent practices and dynamics enrich existing PBL theory. The analysis revealed students’ weariness, shame and fear for/of using GAI, but also how the PBL process enabled them to develop their own reflective and nuanced GAI practices built on their own learning, integrating community, communication and trust. The experiment also revealed co-knowledge construction amongst students, while stakeholders and teachers were seen as figures of authority on how to approach GAI.
Developing critical thinking and self-confidence in speaking classes is essential for non-native English speakers learning English as a foreign language. This study explores the challenges and effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in speaking classes at Gajah Tunggal Polytechnic through qualitative analysis of student and lecturer perspectives. Findings reveal that language barriers, passive learning habits, and fear of mistakes hinder active participation. However, PBL enhances speaking proficiency, independent learning, and collaborative problem-solving skills. Despite its benefits, challenges such as limited resources and insufficient educator training impede implementation. This study emphasizes the need for institutional support, pedagogical adjustments, and targeted interventions to optimize PBL for non-Native English Speakers. The insights gained provide guidance for educators and policymakers seeking to improve English language instruction in similar contexts.
The inability of vocational electrical technology (VET) students to transit from school-to-work after graduation shows that the practical skills needed for employability are far from being achieved. This has caused an increased unemployment rate among VET students. Hence, this study ascertained the relationships between problem-based intervention via tasks-based conduit wiring scenarios in VET students’ practical skills acquisition (PSA). Specifically, this study determined the sequential mediation effects of intrinsic motivation and ability beliefs on problem-based and practical skills acquisition relationship. A cross-sectional study design was adopted for the study. Data was collected from 78 VTE students that gave their consent to participate. The outcome revealed that problem-based intervention is a positive and significant predictor of VET students’ practical skills acquisition tasks. The result also revealed sequential mediating effects of intrinsic motivation and ability beliefs on problem-based and practical skills acquisition relations. This study is unique in that it examines how intrinsic motivation and ability beliefs sequentially mediate the link between problem-based interventions and the development of practical skills in vocational electrical technology (VET) students. By addressing the critical gap in employability skills through task-based conduit wiring scenarios, it provides novel insights into enhancing school-to-work transitions for VET graduates.
This article presents an autoethnographic account of 23 years of teaching experience using problem- and project-based learning (ProbBL and ProjBL) in higher education, across face-to-face, blended, distance learning, and massive open online course (MOOC) formats. Drawing on 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and personal teaching notes, I systematically analyse how PBL approaches were developed, adapted, and implemented in diverse institutional and cultural contexts. These published works, based on both quantitative and qualitative research, serve as reflective artifacts through which I revisit and reinterpret my teaching practice. Using content mapping and thematic coding, I identify recurring tensions and enabling conditions in the application of PBL over time. Key findings highlight the importance of institutional support, student autonomy, emotional engagement, and community partnerships in sustaining active learning practices. Conversely, structural challenges such as faculty precarity, bureaucratic rigidity, and cultural resistance to pedagogical change often undermine these efforts. This article contributes to the literature by foregrounding the often-invisible institutional and emotional labor involved in sustaining transformative teaching practices. It also offers practical recommendations for educators and academic leaders seeking to advance PBL in complex and evolving educational environments.
This article reports on an IRB approved multi-semester qualitative study investigating student experiences during the challenging transition to Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in a technical writing (TW) course. The primary purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of specific strategies utilized to facilitate this transition and to develop practical principles for instructors implementing PBL. Transitional strategies include: a structured, recursive PBL framework (based on Hmelo-Silver's cycle), a four-day cyclical schedule, incremental assignments, and a questioning strategy deriving answers from the problem description. Utilizing thematic analysis of student interviews, reflections, and researcher field notes, this research identifies initial student frustration and uncertainty largely stemming from a perceived lack of direct instruction and concerns regarding assessment standards. While these transitional strategies produced some benefits, they did not eliminate student frustration and uncertainty. However, findings also reveal that strategically implemented, collaboratively created checklists (functioning as contract grading) and required peer reviews provided crucial support, mitigating anxieties and fostering deeper engagement. Furthermore, PBL encouraged creative expression in assignments and facilitated functional, contextualized discussions of grammar and mechanics. This research offers practical principles for TW instructors seeking to ease student transition into PBL, thereby maximizing its potential pedagogical benefits.
This article explores problem finding as a lens to highlight creativity in problem-based learning (PBL) in higher education. By discussing two empirical examples from two social science and humanities educational programs at Aalborg University, Denmark, a Deweyan, experiential learning approach is put into play with socio-cultural and socio-material learning perspectives to explore how materials may support students’ critical-creative problem inquiry. The empirical analyses point to new insights for creativity in PBL as requiring students to build a certain basis of critical judgment to find problems, that is, competences to explore and question social and societal conventions, norms, and taken-for-granted worldviews, including those independent of the predefined objectives of their educational quests. The article points to the potentials of integrating materials and metaphors in PBL-project and group work to explore PBL and critical creativity as interconnected and, in some respects, mutual prerequisites for PBL in higher education.
Problem based learning (PBL), though recognized as beneficial to student development, faces implementation challenges in engineering education. We conducted a Delphi study with PBL and (aerospace) engineering domain experts to understand challenges around learning outcomes, problem design, facilitation, and assessment. The context for the study was an introductory aerospace engineering course, transitioning from a traditional lecture to a PBL format. We found consensus among both expert groups as it relates to ideas about learning outcomes. However, with respect to problem design and facilitation, we observed a slower and more contentious convergence, with some ideas failing to reach consensus. From this, four salient issues emerged as potential barriers to PBL implementation that supports students in important aspects of their professional development: problem framing, making relevant connections to society, a deficit view of students, and discomfort with facilitation. Implications related to these issues are discussed, with consideration given to complications stemming from the isolated, individual-course implementations of PBL commonly found in practice.
Problem-based learning (PBL) and early clinical placements (CP) are recognised as complementary strategies for developing clinical reasoning (CR) in medical education. However, how alternating between these formats influences the CR process from students’ perspectives remains underexplored. This qualitative-led exploratory mixed-methods study examined how curriculum sequencing shapes Graduate Entry Medical students’ perceptions of their CR process. Fourteen Year-2 students participated across two pre-existing streams: one began with PBL and the other with CP before switching. Across these alternating phases, students completed the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR), applied reasoning through vignette-based single-best-answer (SBA) questions to prompt reflection on their reasoning processes. Students’ reflections were further explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis formed the primary interpretive strand, supported by descriptive quantitative data. Interview findings revealed that alternating PBL and CP encouraged students to reflect on, apply, and progressively refine their reasoning skills. Students valued the complementary relationship between classroom discussion and authentic clinical exposure, citing case-based dialogue, GP teaching, and supportive environments as key enablers, while heavy workloads, examination pressures, and over-guided PBL sessions were perceived as barriers to CR process. Overall, CR development emerged as a gradual, experiential process enhanced by the dynamic interplay of PBL and clinical learning. These findings underscore the importance of integrating structured discussion with authentic patient encounters rather than privileging one learning format or sequence over the other.
In this article, we examine the challenges and opportunities perceived by university staff when planning and executing interdisciplinary activities for students in the problem-based and project-centred environment at Aalborg University. Using a qualitative approach, we interviewed 15 participants from nine pilot projects organizing interdisciplinary activities in higher education. The findings highlight various challenges to interdisciplinarities, such as building common ground to be “comfortable being uncomfortable”, framing and facilitating interdisciplinarity and balancing different disciplines in student recruitment. They also present multiple opportunities, including increased awareness of one’s own professional identity, a positive relationship with employability, the possibility of asking more fundamental questions about disciplinary practice, increased outlook when facing complex problems and the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a frame of reference for interdisciplinarity. Based on the findings dimensions of educational design that are critical to interdisciplinary activity planning.
This study examines how academics experience the adoption of project-based learning (PBL) in maritime higher education, analyzed through Engeström's Activity Theory. While PBL has shown effectiveness in higher education, little research addresses the contradictions that arise in specific teaching and learning contexts. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews with 16 faculty members in a UAE maritime institute revealed key tensions: differing perspectives between academics and practitioners, inconsistent use of technological tools, and the absence of standardized progression rules for student projects. Faculty discussions informed recommendations such as targeted professional development, shared e-resources, and a phased PBL framework. The findings underline the need for inclusive dialogue, structured flexibility, and academic leadership in optimizing PBL implementation. This study offers a theoretically grounded and contextually novel analysis that informs curriculum design, stakeholder collaboration, and policy development, contributing to both academic understanding and the enhancement of professional practice in maritime higher education.
This article examines how two content courses in the first and second semesters of a master’s program were redesigned to promote problem-based learning (PBL). In both cases, the syllabi were revised to emphasize problem-orientation, group work, and exemplarity. The impetus for these changes was a study reform initiated by the department management, which reduced the weight of project work in each semester from 15 to 10 ECTS credits. The article provides an account of the study board’s deliberations and analyzes student evaluations of the redesigned courses. Finally, in light of the current pressures on student-driven project work, the article discusses the potential for reinforcing the PBL model through course-level innovations.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) fosters student engagement and enhances the learning process through active problem-solving. However, limited research has explored its specific impact on the speaking skills of students with varying personality traits. This study investigates the influence of PBL on the speaking proficiency of introverted and extroverted students at Fatmawati Sukarno State Islamic University, Bengkulu. Using a comparative experimental design, 40 students were categorized as introverts or extroverts based on a validated personality questionnaire. PBL was implemented through structured group activities, including identifying real-world problems, researching solutions, brainstorming ideas, and presenting findings. These tasks targeted critical speaking skills such as fluency, confidence, organization, and clarity. Pre-test and post-test assessments of speaking performance provided quantitative data, analyzed using paired and independent t-tests. Results revealed significant improvements in speaking proficiency for both groups, with extroverted students showing greater gains than their introverted peers. The findings highlight the potential of PBL to improve speaking skills across personality types and underscore the importance of tailoring PBL activities to accommodate diverse learner traits. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the adaptability of PBL for optimizing speaking skill development in higher education contexts.
This study explores students' perspectives on the integration of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Blended Learning (BL) in a collaborative course environment. By examining a cohort of undergraduate students across two interdisciplinary courses, the research aims to understand how these pedagogical approaches influence student collaboration, engagement, and perceived learning outcomes. Data were collected through surveys and one-to-one semi-structured interviews, revealing that students generally appreciated the flexibility and interactive nature of BL and active learning of PBL. However, few students faced challenges with team coordination, time management, and guidance intensity during the PBBL implementation. The study concludes with recommendations for educators to enhance collaborative learning through strategic course design.
The increasing trend of anxiety among students is closely linked to psychological safety, which refers to an environment where individuals feel comfortable expressing their thoughts without fear of negative consequences. Conversely, environments lacking psychological safety can heighten anxiety. This report examines the impact of transitioning from group work to solo projects on master-level students at Aalborg University. The shift to solo projects, with only a supervisor for support, may affect students’ psychological safety. This study investigates the psychological safety of students during this transition, identifying factors that influence their sense of security and confidence when working independently. By understanding these factors, the study aims to provide insights for educators to better support students in solo projects and mitigate the entrenchment of group-work learning styles while retaining the benefits. Strategies to enhance psychological safety, such as forming learning labs, are explored to break the feedback loop leading to poor solo work experiences and reinforce positive learning outcomes.
Problem-solving (PS) is taught and practised in many higher education institutions across various disciplines. However, there is a lack of understanding of how to teach PS in a way that aligns with the specific principles and methods associated with its pedagogy. This study aimed to understand how tutors of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a problem-centered instructional practice, conceptualize teaching problem-solving (CoTPS). Through qualitative interviews followed by phenomenographic analysis, we developed a model of CoTPS, which analyses how PBL tutors conceive problems in instruction, the process of problem-solving, and their role in tutorial groups. The categories of description, forming a hierarchy of inclusivity, enabled us to identify the least and most complex conceptions of teaching problem-solving. This model allows PBL tutors and, more broadly, higher education teachers to reflect on their conceptions and enables academic developers to create programs that enhance both conceptual understanding and practical application of problem-centred instruction.
