Sense and sensibility : collaborative & interdisciplinary problem design in PBL initiatives

This paper was conceived in response to an identified need for new PBL practitioners to be able to access a range of sample problems that would help them develop PBL within their own disciplines, particularly when outside of the life sciences. Likewise, a need for new approaches to problem design was also identified. Taking cognisance that problems should be grounded in the ‘real world’, we need to reconceptualise problem design. It is proposed that conceptualising problems as triggers that stimulate knowledge development by harnessing sensory experiences is a way forward. This paper will be of particular interest to new PBL practitioners, teachers in the various disciplines considering PBL and educational developers teaching PBL.