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.

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 Practice and Exploration of Applying EBM to Bilingual Teaching of Medical Genetics at OSBCM

In the process of teaching medical genetics of undergraduate clinical medicine, the practice and exploration of applying EBM to the bilingual teaching of OSBCM medical genetics are carried out. Using CBL and PBL as the carrier can make up for the shortcomings of a single teaching mode, synthesize the advantages of multiple teaching modes. It starts from integrating the basic theoretical knowledge of medicine and clinical practice knowledge, improving students’ bilingual level of medical genetics, cultivating students’ literature retrieval ability, and promoting early clinical, multi-clinical and repeated clinical consciousness for medical students. Therefore, it is more conducive to cultivate students’ ability to learn independently, accurately analyze and solve problems, improve medical students’ clinical thinking ability and scientific research awareness, improve medical students’ ability of international communication, and lay a solid foundation for improving medical students’ future post competence, innovative spirit and lifelong learning ability.