Perceptions of medical faculty students: The effect of problem-based learning on self-regulated learning skills

Objective: Self-regulated learning (SRL) is defined as the entirety of emotions, thoughts, and behaviours that individuals display in order to achieve their goals during the developmental period. Problem-based learning (PBL), used in medical education, is an educational model based on complete and sufficient learning. The aim of the study was to determine the perception of students from a medical faculty that applies the PBL education model on their self-regulation abilities. Investigating whether there is a difference in the students’ perception on their self-regulation abilities between the first and third year of PBL education and examining if there is a difference in female and male students regarding their perception on their self-regulation abilities are also among the purposes. Material and Methods: The 453 students participated in the study, 253 from the first-year students and 200 from the third-year students. The “Self-Regulated Learning Skills of Students“ scale was used in the study and the Cronbach’s alpha values were between 0.839-0.942. Results: In the comparison of Self-Regulated Learning Abilities of Students Scale score averages of first-year and third-year students, statistically significant high scores were identified in third-year students compared to first-year students in 4 of the 23 parameters in the scale. Conclusion: Self-regulation of third-year students’ high scores in four parameters can be considered to be related to PBL gains.  When the Self-Regulated Learning Abilities of Students Scale score averages were compared according to gender, statistically significant high scores were found in 7 of the 23 parameters in females.