Influence of Tutor Behaviours on the Process of Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

The theme of this thesis revolves around the behaviours of the tutor in problem-based learning (PBL) and its effects on the learning in this approach. Although a substantial amount of research on PBL has been conducted over the years, it is still relatively unclear how learning takes place during the PBL process. In addition, factors that influence the learning process such as the quality of problems, the tutor and the use of scaffolds are areas that require greater investigation (Schmidt, Rotgans and Yew, 2011). With these considerations in mind, the research conducted in this thesis aims to deepen the understanding of what occurs during the actual learning process of PBL and in particular, the impact PBL tutors have on student learning.