概況

Objective –
The purpose of this study was to describe nursing students' experience of problem-based learning (PBL) in Macao.

Method –
The descriptive study was conducted with fourth year students who completed a one-semester PBL nursing course in Macao. Participants were voluntary and completed a researcher developed PBL Evaluation Scale. Students also wrote a reflective paper about their learning experience.

Results –
Students considered PBL to be moderately effective overall (item mean 3.35±0.53). They considered PBL to be highly effective in stimulating group discussion (item mean 3.93±0.81), promoting open discussion of differing opinions (item mean 3.89±0.74), sharing what they had learned, interpreted and synthesized with entire group (item mean 3.79±0.74), and increasing their ability to work effectively on a team (item mean 3.61±0.69). However, almost one half of the students expressed uncertainty in acquiring knowledge, the stressful learning process and the workload. A few students felt frustrated with poor group cooperation of some colleagues.

Conclusion –
PBL can be effective in helping students assume active responsibility for their learning. PBL is most effective if faculty can provide the students with support in developing their understanding of PBL, and help students develop appropriate strategies for coping and engaging in the PBL learning process.