The PBL group: self-reflections and feedback for improved learning and growth

Abstract

The aims of the PBL group are briefly stated: the facilitation of learning, the fostering of self-directed and lifelong learners, and the developments of social skills that may enhance professional relations. These goals may only be reached by systematic and proficient work with the group processes in PBL; and this work has relevance in all the phases of the life of a group: in the initial formation and in the later renegotiations of interactive patterns. In working with the dynamics of a group, the importance of self-evaluation, reflection and feedback between students is emphasized. Inventories are suggested as a means to improve the feedback between students, and also changes in group interactions. The paper calls for a renewed interest in group dynamics in PBL.