my experience with PBL at uni

Hello! Today I'd like to talk about an extremely unique approach to education at some universities: PBL - problem-based learning!

I have been a university student at one of those universities and I'd love to share my thoughts on this approach with you.

Content:

- What is PBL?

- Strengths

- Weaknesses

- My own impression

If you're curious to see if you'd like PBL more than sitting through hours of (boring) lectures and practicals, definitely check out this post!

What is PBL?

PBL stands for Problem-Based Learning. It's a fancy term for a not-so-fancy way of learning. PBL boils down to:

- bi- or tri-weekly tutorial meetings in a small group of students (usually around 15)

- pre-discussion on a topic that we will have to study for the next tutorial

- individual preparation for the tutorial at home by each student

- discussion - presenting what we learned on a given topic in a group discussion

- pre-discussion on the next topic

- aaand so on... repeat!

It all sounds fun until you find out that there are PBL tutorials for statistical courses, too! Kidding. But, yes, we use PBL for statistics.

That's (more or less) the idea of PBL!

Strengths

- Allows you to explore the topic in depth by yourself

- easy to clear any doubts and answer some questions

- facilitates critical thinking

- teaches teamwork

- teaches leadership

Weaknesses

- The topics and mandatory literature is prepared by the course coordinators in advance. I'm not a fan of reading 250 pages in a day because I have 12 articles on the list and "everything can be on the exam"

- The curriculum changes pretty often. If you fail a course one year, you might have to study something entirely new next year

- bad for introverts

- bad for anxious people

Own thoughts

Having experienced PBL myself, I can honestly say it’s been one of the most interesting parts of my university education. It’s not always easy, but it really pushes you to take responsibility for your own learning. You're not just sitting there ively in a lecture but often find yourself actively digging into topics, trying to make sense of them on your own or with your group, and then discussing your findings together. That process helps the material stick so much more than just memorizing slides.

Having said that, I really think that for PBL to work, you need to come to the group meetings prepared. It sounds obvious but I often find myself unprepared due to lack of time... Only to regret it later when cramming for the exam season.

One thing I really like about PBL is how much it helps you develop real-life skills. It trains your critical thinking because you're constantly having to question what you're reading, see how it connects to the bigger picture, and explain it to others. There’s research backing this up, too (studies like the one by Liu and Pasztor (2022) found that students in PBL programs tend to show better critical thinking skills compared to those in more traditional settings).

It also teaches you how to work with people. That’s a big one. You get used to having conversations, sometimes disagreements, and learning to explain your ideas clearly while also listening to others. It’s great preparation for any kind of job where teamwork matters; and let’s be honest, that’s most jobs these days. Especially in fields like healthcare, education, or business, where collaboration is key.

But, it’s not all perfect. The reading load can be brutal sometimes. I days where we had 14+ articles to read, and all of it could be on the exam. That kind of pressure can be a lot, especially if you’re someone who gets easily overwhelmed or tends to overthink. I also think PBL isn’t ideal for everyone. If you're introverted or deal with anxiety, speaking up in every session can be stressful. Some students might prefer more structure or clarity on what’s expected of them, and that's totally valid (I like structure, too).

So, would I recommend PBL? Yes! but with a caveat. It really depends on your learning style. If you're someone who enjoys figuring things out independently, who doesn’t mind a bit of uncertainty, and who wants to actively engage with what you're studying, I think you’ll get a lot out of it. If you prefer more direct guidance and structure, it might not be the right fit. I think it'd be really nice to see PBL implementation across some other universities!