ABSTRACT
Problems have always mobilised and stimulated thinking and learning; they energise our activity and focus our attention. When problems are experienced as relevant and important, people are motivated to direct their energies towards solving them. It is exactly these energising and curiosity-inducing dimensions of problems that form the basis and rationale for using problems in teaching and learning. Although problem-based learning has existed since the dawn of time, in higher education contexts we can trace problem-based learning (PBL), as a total approach to student learning, to the 1960s in North America. The basis of PBL consists of creating real-life problems for students to work on in small teams (Barrows, 1989). Now, in the 21st century, people across the globe in diverse disciplines and professions are using PBL. While some people use PBL in systematic, integrated ways, using shared methodologies across whole programmes and institutions, others use PBL in particular modules or units of a programme.
