ABSTRACT
A rapidly growing literature addresses many dimensions of the philosophy, methodology and outcomes of courses using PBL. One aspect which has been neglected is the student experience of problem-based courses. It is important to begin to question whether PBL is particularly suited to some categories of students. Increasing clarity on this issue will contribute to our effectiveness as educators in designing and developing courses appropriate for the students we work with. In this chapter we open the debate by looking at the experience of ‘non-traditional learners’ with PBL. Non-traditional learners are those students who did not achieve a standard school-leaving qualification and enter higher education through a variety of routes, including access programmes and schemes which accredit prior learning.
