Incoming medical students and their perception on the transition towards an active learning

Abstract

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an active learning modality widely adopted in medical courses. The objective of this study was to analyze the perception of the enrolled medical students troughout the transition from the traditional teaching given in High School to the PBL. This is an exploratory and qualitative study carried out in three higher education institutions. Data were obtained through focus groups, followed by content analysis. Three common thematic nuclei emerged from these lines. Students perceive the weakness of traditional teaching and its implications in their learning process. The students’ view of PBL is positive but contradictory reflecting on the one hand, the anguish of a paradigmatic transition, but on the other hand it alerts to the possibility of misunderstandings in the conduction of PBL.