The Influence of Participants' Reception of Problem-based Learning on Problem-based Learning Tutorials

Ideological statements about problem-based learning may indeed differ from learning practices in real life. A study of medical students engaged in small group tutorials revealed that despite of the institution�s expression of a self-directed problem-based learning ideology, student often engaged in cue seeking and surface approaches to the proffered material. Case descriptions were likely read as didactic texts rather than representations of real phenomena. Thus, they triggered discussions relating what issues it would be strategic to study. These and other patterns from the study, such as tutor piloting, are exemplified in the article. The findings are primarily explained through reception theory and also through frame-factor theoretical thinking.