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On the relationship between group functioning and study success in problem‐based learning
Author(s) -
Nieminen Juha,
Sauri Pekka,
Lonka Kirsti
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02344.x
Subject(s) - psychology , problem based learning , session (web analytics) , medical education , quality (philosophy) , reliability (semiconductor) , perception , mathematics education , medicine , computer science , philosophy , power (physics) , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , world wide web
In problem‐based learning (PBL), discussion in the tutorial group plays a central role in stimulating student learning. Problems are the principal input for stimulating discussion. The quality of discussion is assumed to influence student learning and, in the end, study success. Aims To investigate the relationships between aspects of group functioning and study success. Methods First‐year medical students ( n = 116), forming 12 PBL groups, completed a 21‐item questionnaire on various aspects of a PBL session. At the end of the unit, a course examination was administered. Scales were constructed and reliability analyses conducted. Results Group functioning and case quality were strongly correlated with students' grades in a course examination. Further, students' perceptions of group functioning, case quality and the quality of their own contribution were linked strongly with each other. Conclusions Group functioning, case quality and study success are associated with each other in PBL. The interaction between these aspects of PBL in promoting learning calls for further investigation.