Validation of a short questionnaire to assess the degree of complexity and structuredness of PBL problems.

BACKGROUND: In problem-based learning (PBL), problems represent the starting point of students' learning activities. Therefore, the quality of these problems should be high, in that they should be of an adequate level of complexity and structuredness. Previous research has proposed several guideline...

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Publicado en:Medical Education Vol. 37; no. 11; pp. 1001 - 1008
Autores principales: Jacobs AEJ, Dolmans DHJ, Wolfhagen IHA, Scherpbier AJJ
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Nov2003
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Validation of a short questionnaire to assess the degree of complexity and structuredness of PBL problems.
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          Jacobs AEJ
          Dolmans DHJ
          Wolfhagen IHA
          Scherpbier AJJ
        affil: Dept of Educational Development and Research, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands
      sug:
        subj:
          Education, Medical Evaluation
          Instrument Validation
          Problem-Based Learning Evaluation
          Chi Square Test
          Conceptual Framework
          Construct Validity
          Descriptive Statistics
          Factor Analysis
          Netherlands
          P-Value
          Validation Studies
          Human
      ab: BACKGROUND: In problem-based learning (PBL), problems represent the starting point of students' learning activities. Therefore, the quality of these problems should be high, in that they should be of an adequate level of complexity and structuredness. Previous research has proposed several guidelines for constructing problems, but some of them are rather vague and are not based on empirical evidence. The present study aimed to validate a short questionnaire that can be used to assess the degree of complexity and structuredness of PBL problems. METHOD: This paper outlines Jonassen's theory, on which the questionnaire is based, and its relationship and applicability to PBL problems. The questionnaire was validated by means of confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that students were able to distinguish PBL problems that were too simple and those that were too well-structured, but found it difficult to distinguish problems that were too complex or too ill-structured. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire may be used to measure the levels of complexity and structuredness of a problem as perceived by students and can provide teachers with feedback about the quality of problems.
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        research
        tables/charts
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      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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