The Application of Problem Based Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: A Strategy for Curriculum Reform

Background: Problem based learning (PBL) is an innovative way of delivering instruction in which problems are used as the basis of learning. Problem based learning was developed in the 1960s by Harold Barrows at McMaster University Medical School in Canada. Since then, PBL had been im-plemented as a teaching method in other reputable education institutions internationally, includ-ing nursing education. Curriculum reform is proposed through PBL in conjunction with patient simulation in undergraduate nursing education. The first author, Tan Kan Ku, PhD Candidate, MHS (Transcultural Mental Health—by Research) worked as a Registered Nurse for more than two decades internationally in England, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Australia, where she worked as a Case Manager in Community Mental Health Rehabilitation Program. Since 2001, she focused on nurse education and research into the stigma of mental illness from a cross-cultural perspective. Currently, she teaches Mental Health, Cultural Diversity and Research in the Diploma of Nursing course at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, while completing her PhD thesis for examination at Charisma University. The second author, Dr. Michael Ha, FSA, MAAA, CFA, CPA (Australia) FRM, PRM, LLM, is the Founding Director of the MSc Financial Mathematics programme at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He was previously Vice President of Strategic Business In-itiatives Units at ING Life Insurance in its Taiwan operation. Ninety percent of his students are enrolled in the Financial Mathematics programme. They learn not only mathematics and statistics theories but also their applications in the Finance and Investment areas, especially Portfolio Con-struction and Financial Risk Management. Creating a real-world Finance work environment in university lecture-halls embracing theories and practice, Dr. Ha strongly believes the PBL method can be employed in the Financial Mathematics training agenda so students can be better-prepared for work. Students are no longer instructed-learners but active thinkers and problem-solvers. Conclusion: Educators in fields such as Medical, Nursing, Engineering, Financial Mathematics, Ac-counting, Computing, etc., need to be prepared to change their teaching philosophy from didactic to problem solving for PBL to be implemented. Constructive alignment is recommended for curri-culum reform.

Effects of Health Education with Problem-Based Learning Approaches on the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Coping Skills of Women with High-Risk Pregnancies in Plateau Areas

Objective: Given the unique cultural background, way of life, and physical environment of the Tibetan Plateau, this study aims to investigate the effects of health education using problem-based learning (PBL) approaches on the knowledge, attitude, practice, and coping skills of women with high-risk pregnancies in this region. Methods: 76 high-risk pregnancy cases were enrolled at Tibet’s Linzhi People’s Hospital between September 2023 and April 2024. 30 patients admitted between September 2023 and December 2023 were selected as the control group and were performed with regular patient education. 46 patients admitted between January 2024 and April 2024 were selected as the observation group and were performed regular patient education with problem-based learning approaches. Two groups’ performance on their health knowledge, attitude, practice and coping skills before and after interventions were evaluated, and patient satisfaction were measured at the end of the study. Results: There was no statistical significance (P P P Conclusions: Health education with problem-based learning approaches is worth promoting as it can help high-risk pregnant women in plateau areas develop better health knowledge, attitude and practice and healthier coping skills. Also, it can improve patient sanctification.

The inverse problem based on a full dispersive wave equation

The inverse problem for harmonic waves and wave packets was studied based on a full dispersive wave equation. First, a full dispersive wave equation which describes wave propagation in nondissipative microstructured linear solids is established based on the Mindlin theory, and the dispersion characteristics are discussed. Second, based on the full dispersive wave equation, an inverse problem for determining the four unknown coefficients of wave equa- tion is posed in terms of the frequencies and corresponding wave numbers of four different harmonic waves, and the inverse problem is demonstrated with rigorous mathematical theory. Research proves that the coefficients of wave equation related to material properties can be uniquely determined in cases of normal and anomalous dispersions by measuring the frequen- cies and corresponding wave numbers of four different harmonic waves which propagate in a nondissipative microstructured linear solids.

Integrating a flipped classroom and problem-based learning into ophthalmology education

Background: Ophthalmology is an important medical science subject, but it is given with insufficient attention in undergraduate medical education. Flipped classroom(FC) and problem-based learning(PBL) are well-known education methods that can be integrated into ophthalmology education to improve students' competence level and promote active learning. Methods: We used a mixed teaching methodology that integrated a FC and PBL into a 1-week ophthalmology clerkship for 72 fourth-year medical students. The course includes two major sessions: FC session and PBL session, relying on clinical and real-patient cases. Written examinations were set up to assess students' academic performance and questionnaires were designed to evaluate their perceptions. Results: The post-course examination results were higher than the pre-course results, and many students gained ophthalmic knowledge and learning skills to varying levels. Comparison of pre-and post-course questionnaires indicated that interests in ophthalmology increased and more students expressed desires to be eye doctors. Most students were satisfied with the new method, while some suggested the process should be slower and the communication with their teacher needed to strengthen.Conclusions: FC and PBL are complementary methodologies. Utilizing the mixed teaching meth of FC and PBL was successful in enhancing academic performance, student satisfactions and promoting active learning.

Exploring the Application Effect of Flipped Classroom Combined with Problem-Based Learning Teaching Method in Clinical Skills Teaching of Standardized Training for Resident Doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Objective: To explore the application effect of flipped classroom combined with problem-based learning teaching method in clinical skills teaching of standardized training for resident doctors of traditional Chinese Medicine. Methods: The study used the experimental control method. The study lasted from September to November 2022. The subjects of this study were 49 students of standardized training for resident doctors of traditional Chinese Medicine from grades 2020, 2021 and 2022 of Dazhou integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital. They were randomly divided into experiment group (25) and control group (24). The experiment group adopted flipped classroom combined with problem-based learning teaching method, and the control group adopted traditional teaching method. The teaching content was 4 basic clinical skill projects, including four diagnoses of traditional Chinese Medicine, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, dressing change procedure, acupuncture and massage. The evaluation method was carried out by comparing the students’ performance and a self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the students’ evaluation of the teaching method. Results: The test scores of total scores in the experimental group (90.12 ± 5.89) were all higher than those in the control group (81.47 ± 7.96) (t = 4.53, P P Conclusions: The teaching process of the flipped classroom combined with problem-based learning teaching method is conducive to improving the efficiency of classroom teaching, cultivating students’ self-learning ability, and enhancing students’ willingness to learn.

Problem-Based Learning of Drug Use and Abuse during COVID-19 Contingency

Introduction: Nursing students’ experiences during the pandemic provoked social isolation, the way to learn and every context increasing their stress and anxiety leading to drug use and abuse, among others. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogic strategy to strengthen significant learning;then the objective was to establish PBL influence in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during COVID-19 contingency. Methods: Qualitative, phenomenological and descriptive paradigm, 12 female and male nursing students aged 20 - 24 years old from the 5th and 6th semesters participated. Information collection was through semi-structured interview and a deep one in four cases. A guide of questions about: How the pandemic impacted your life? How did you face it? And what did you learn during this process? Those questions were used. Qualitative data analysis was based on De Souza Minayo, and signed informed consent was obtained from participants. Results: Students’ experiences allowed four categories to emerge, with six sub-categories. Category I. Students’ experiences on drug use and abuse facing the sanitary contingency;Category II. Students’ skills development to identify a problem and design of appropriate solutions;Category III. Developing skills to favor interpersonal relationships;Category IV. Influence of PBL in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during the COVID-19 contingency. Conclusion: PBL favored analysis and thoughts in nursing students’ experiences on drug use and abuse during the COVID-19 contingency, they worked collaboratively, developed resilience to daily life situations, and implemented stress coping strategies with their significant learning, which diminished their risk behavior.

Effects of Problem-based English Writing Instruction on Thai Upper Secondary School Students' Critical Thinking Abilities and Argumentative Writing Skills

The objective of the study is to examine the effects of Problem based English writing instruction on Thai Upper secondary school students' critical thinking abilities and argumentative writing skill.In this study,the researcher constructed 18weeks' training in a prestigious secondary school M6 level.The instruments used in this research include lesson plans,writing assignments,instructional material and topics.Critical thinking pre- test and post test were used to measure students' critical thinking development.Scoring rubric was designed to measure students' argumentative writing development.The data were analyzed using mean,t-test,correlation through SPSS system.The results of the analyses reveal that 1) students who learn through Problem based English Writing Instruction gained significantly higher average scores on the critical thinking post test than the critical thinking pre-test at the significance level of 0.05 and the mean difference is 0.5 which is referred to large effect;2) students who learn through Problem based English Writing Instruction gained significantly higher average score on their fifth argumentative writing assignment than the average score of their first argumentative writing assignment at the significance level of 0.05,with the mean of the effect size at 0.84 which referred to large effect.Problem-based English writing instruction was proved to be an effective way in improving students' Critical thinking and argumentative writing.

An innovative approach of using online problem‑based learning and case‑based learning in teaching disaster nursing during the COVID‑19 pandemic

Objective:The objective of this study is to evaluate the learning experience effect of online problem‑based learning(PBL)and case‑based learning(CBL)in teaching disaster nursing.Methods:According to the characteristics of online PBL and CBL,the revised curriculum experience questionnaire(CEQ)was used to evaluate the teaching quality.Cronbach’s coefficient and the reliability of the split‑half reliability questionnaire were calculated.The exploratory factor analysis of 26 items was carried out by principal component analysis and maximum variance rotation method.Kaiser‑Meyer‑Olkin(KMO)and Bartlett’s tests were used to test the validity of the questionnaire.The comparison between groups was performed by one‑way analysis of variance.Results:A total of 191 questionnaires were issued and 183 copies were recovered,with a recovery rate of 95.8%.The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of CEQ is 0.929,and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of each dimension is between 0.713 and 0.924.After factor analysis,the KMO value was 0.817.The 26 items finally returned to 6 principal components,and all factor load values were above 0.7,indicating good factor analysis effect.This study found that students who learned disaster nursing had an ideal online learning experience,and the average value of CEQ was 3.74±0.42.In particular,male students,senior students or medical students had a higher curriculum experience score.In addition,compared with the national recruitment,the international students have higher curriculum experience score on the dimension of Appropriate Assessment Scale,indicating that the international students are more inclined to use online PBL and CBL.Conclusions:Using the revised CEQ is an innovative approach to evaluate the effect of online PBL and CBL in teaching disaster nursing,which can improve students’experience and curriculum quality.

The problem-based learning integrated with simulation to improve nursing students’ self-efficacy

Introduction: The purposes of this study were to describe the simulation integrated with problem-based learning (SIM-PBL) module to educate the nursing process for clients with hypertension and to evaluate its effectiveness on nursing students’ self-efficacy (SE). Methods: This study was a one group pre- and post-test design. Twenty five students received a 5-hour SIM-PBL program focused on nursing care of clients with hypertension. A newly developed self-report questionnaire was used to assess SE in four areas of the nursing process with a scale of 0 (not at all confident) to 10 (totally confident). The four areas were subjective data assessment, physical examination, prioritizing nursing care and health promotion advices. Results: At baseline, students’ SE ranged from 5.5 ± 1.4 (prioritizing nursing care) to 7.6 ± 1.4 (subjective data assessment). After SIM-PBL education, all areas of nursing process presented statistically significant improvements of SE. The improvements were most noticeable in prioritizing nursing care. Conclusion: The SIM-PBL module was effective in improving the students’ self-efficacy in the nursing process for patients with hypertension. Further studies are recommended in developing SIM-PBL modules for diverse nursing topics and evaluating their effectiveness in various aspects of students’ competency.

Do the Application of Problem-Based Learning on Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Is Effective? A Case Study Review

Objectives: The study’s aims to determine and assess the application of problem-based learning to undergraduate nursing students. Background: Nursing students are the upcoming health care delivery system;according to their standard of learning, it will affect their clinical training. Method: The study design is a case study review, the data was collected using many articles related to problem-based learning collected from E-books and E-journals websites like CINAHEL, Google Scholar, etc. After that, the data was analyzed and evaluated related to the application of problem-based learning on undergraduate nursing students. Result: The result appeared that most of the research proved and supported that the application of problem-based learning is effective for undergraduate nursing students, and students can solve patients’ problems in a better way. Conclusion: In conclusion, problem-based learning is an essential part of the nursing diagnosis process that will increase knowledge, and performance, and merge it with the nursing concepts.

Modulus-Based Matrix Splitting Iteration Methods for a Class of Stochastic Linear Complementarity Problem

For the expected value formulation of stochastic linear complementarity problem, we establish modulus-based matrix splitting iteration methods. The convergence of the new methods is discussed when the coefficient matrix is a positive definite matrix or a positive semi-definite matrix, respectively. The advantages of the new methods are that they can solve the large scale stochastic linear complementarity problem, and spend less computational time. Numerical results show that the new methods are efficient and suitable for solving the large scale problems.

Market-based solutions:An appropriate approach to resolve environmental problems

It was the first time that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC),which was founded in 1988,regarded climate change as a significant international political problem(O'Brien and Williams 2007).Over the next decades,environmentalist and policy makers have been applying many efficient ways to solve various environmental problems and have gained achievements.With the support of successful cases,this paper will focus on the market-based solutions and discuss its advantages compared with the conventional approach.

A Class of Smoothing Modulus-Based Iterative Method for Solving Implicit Complementarity Problems

In this paper, a class of smoothing modulus-based iterative method was presented for solving implicit complementarity problems. The main idea was to transform the implicit complementarity problem into an equivalent implicit fixed-point equation, then introduces a smoothing function to obtain its approximation solutions. The convergence analysis of the algorithm was given, and the efficiency of the algorithms was verified by numerical experiments.

Solving the independent set problem by sticker based DNA computers

In this paper, the sticker based DNA computing was used for solving the independent set problem. At first, solution space was constructed by using appropriate DNA memory complexes. We defined a new operation called “divide” and applied it in construction of solution space. Then, by application of a sticker based parallel algorithm using biological operations, independent set problem was resolved in polynomial time.

Applying Surface-Based DNA Computing for Solving the Dominating Set Problem

The surface-based DNA computing is one of the methods of DNA computing which uses DNA strands immobilized on a solid surface. In this paper, we applied surface-based DNA computing for solving the dominating set problem. At first step, surface-based DNA solution space was constructed by using appropriate DNA strands. Then, by application of a DNA parallel algorithm, dominating set problem was resolved in polynomial time.

DBASE—Ⅲ 产生模拟随机数通用程序

本文用DBASEⅢ函数TIME( )产生的时分秒值,经运算产生模拟随机数,用在题库中随机组成试卷或选取题目.

Feature-Based Aggregation and Deep Reinforcement Learning:A Survey and Some New Implementations

In this paper we discuss policy iteration methods for approximate solution of a finite-state discounted Markov decision problem, with a focus on feature-based aggregation methods and their connection with deep reinforcement learning schemes. We introduce features of the states of the original problem, and we formulate a smaller "aggregate" Markov decision problem, whose states relate to the features. We discuss properties and possible implementations of this type of aggregation, including a new approach to approximate policy iteration. In this approach the policy improvement operation combines feature-based aggregation with feature construction using deep neural networks or other calculations. We argue that the cost function of a policy may be approximated much more accurately by the nonlinear function of the features provided by aggregation, than by the linear function of the features provided by neural networkbased reinforcement learning, thereby potentially leading to more effective policy improvement.

多元化教学模式在缺血性脑血管病介入进修医师培训中的应用探索

目的 探讨多元化教学模式在提高缺血性脑血管病介入诊疗进修医师培训质量和效率方面的应用。方法 选择2018年1月-2022年12月在南京大学医学院附属鼓楼医院神经内科接受脑血管介入培训的进修医师为研究对象,应用多元化教学模式,即将多种教学方法融合交叉的培训模式进行教学。采用问卷调查的形式对进修医师满意度及其在培训前后介入诊疗理论知识和实践操作能力进行评估。结果 共纳入55名进修医师,年龄32~50岁,其中男性51名(92.73%)。89.09%的进修医师对多元化教学模式非常满意;分别有83.64%和85.45%的进修医师认为多元化教学模式激发了学习兴趣和自主学习能力。经过多元化教学模式培训后,能够独立完成颅外支架置入治疗的进修医师显著增加(41.82%vs. 12.73%,P=0.002)。结论 多元化教学模式是提高缺血性脑血管病介入进修医师培训质量和效率的有效手段。

临床药学专业抗感染PBL案例库的建设与探索

抗菌药物合理使用已成为临床药学实践教学的重要内容之一。传统的教学方式存在局限性,往往不能有效提升学生在实际临床工作中抗菌药物合理使用的能力。为解决这一问题,笔者研究了以以问题为基础的教学法(problem-based learning,PBL)为基础的案例库建设在抗菌药物合理使用教学中的应用;探讨了PBL案例库在抗菌药物合理使用教学中的重要意义和实用性。它不仅能激发学生的主动学习兴趣,还有助于培养其跨学科团队合作和临床决策能力。文章还明确了PBL案例库编写的基本原则、方法以及案例的结构和内容,以确保建设案例库的可行性。本研究在临床药学专业硕士研究生教育中的实践证明,该方法适用于现代教学模式,有望显著提高抗菌药物合理使用教学的质量和效果,具有重要的教学和临床实践意义。