This work on problem-based learning (PBL) online case-based simulations is on the leading edge of PBL practice as the Internet is becoming an important environment for communication, collaboration, information retrieval, and knowledge creation. This work provides one model for implementing PBL online.
Using a Collaborative Online Multimedia PBL Simulation to Stimulate Critical Thinking
Principal Investigator: Dr. David Kaufman
Co-Investigator: Dr. Kevin O'Neill
Additional Team Member: Robyn Schell
What's Proposed
This project involved the development, implementation and evaluation of a Collaborative Online Multimedia Problem-based Learning Simulation (COMPS) instructional model designed to help students and practitioners in the health professions develop clinical reasoning and diagnostic skills.
It resulted in an MA thesis for Robyn Schell. Both students and instructors are searching for effective learning platforms and pedagogical models that enable them to collaborate, study, and work at a distance. In order to address this need, COMPS was developed to support a case-based tutorial model where learners can work together online to solve authentic problems no matter where they are located.
The model aims to bring together the strongest features of simulations, namely engagement and immersiveness, with one of the strongest features of face-to-face learning - social interaction. The COMPS model combines these strengths to create a new learning system for health education and examines how students learn in this online environment.