Effects of Problem-Based Learning Curricula on Faculty Learning: New Lenses, New Questions

Literature on the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education has short-changed important questions about the effect of PBL curricula on faculty learning and on faculty knowledge of their subject matter. This paper opens up new questions about the impact of PBL in medical colleges and other health sciences by focusing attention on its effects on faculty learning, on collegial networks in medical colleges, and, consequently, on other scholarly work by faculty. A brief review of research on the effects of PBL on faculty and faculty development is followed by a synthesis of relevant research findings from research on teaching and faculty learning in other disciplines. A new conceptual framework, drawn from the educational paradigms, methods and empirical findings from those other areas of higher education research and research on secondary school teaching, is applied to designing, examining, and evaluating problem-based learning. Viewing faculty as learners prompts a new research agenda including questions such as: What do faculty members learn by participating in integrative, interdisciplinary problem-based learning courses? How? How is that learning related to or integrated with other aspects of their scholarly work?