Table 2 Limitations of the current PBL curriculum
Theme | Sub-theme | Node |
|---|---|---|
Student aspect | Individual problem | Study time is too long |
Too much pressure on study | ||
Unclear roles in individual student | ||
Group problem | Unequal participation of students | |
Problem in allocation of group work | ||
Too many students in one group | ||
Lack of comparison among members | ||
Discussion topic slides off track | ||
Lack of effective collaboration | ||
Groups are not divided voluntarily | ||
Communication problem | Insufficient communication within group | |
Difficulty of communication after course | ||
Tutor aspect | Individual problem | Insufficient understanding of students |
A shortage of effective training | ||
Tutoring problem | Difficulty of mastering the right time to intervene | |
Lack of feedback and evaluation system | ||
Incapable to offer effective instruction | ||
Incapable to provide sufficient learning resources | ||
Difficulty of adaptation to various instructional relationships | ||
Lack of control of presentation time | ||
PBL course aspect | The nature of PBL | Unclear nature and concepts of PBL |
PBL is not suitable for all the courses | ||
PBL knowledge | Lack of logical system in scattered knowledge | |
Rote learning is needed for inert knowledge | ||
Superficial learning in acquiring knowledge | ||
Insufficient time in learning basic knowledge | ||
PBL case | Case is too difficult for the students | |
Case is irrelevant to the course | ||
Case is not interesting enough | ||
Assessment | Unclear assessment criteria | |
Language | High requirement on English language |