The effectiveness of problem-based learning in pediatric medical education in China: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
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Background: The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in pediatric medical education in China. Methods: We searched Chinese electronic databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, the China Science Periodical Database, and the Chinese BioMedical Literature Database. We also searched English electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We searched for published studies that compared the effects of PBL and traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) on students’ theoretical knowledge, skill, and case analysis scores during pediatric medical education in China. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Results: A total of 12 RCTs were included, with a total sample size of 1003 medical students. The PBL teaching model significantly increased theoretical knowledge scores (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79–1.52; P < .00001), skill scores (95% CI, 0.87–2.25; P < .00001), and case analysis scores (P < .00001, I 2 = 88%) compared with those using the LBL teaching model alone. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis shows that PBL in pediatric medical education in China appears to be more effective than the traditional teaching method in improving theoretical knowledge, skill, and case analysis scores. However, a more controlled design of RCT is needed to confirm the above conclusions in future work.
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The four systematic reviews and meta-analysis included in this scoping review, all carried out in China, found that PBL was more effective than lecture-based learning in improving knowledge and other skills (clinical, problem-solving, self-learning and collaborative).
“the four systematic reviews and meta-analysis included in this scoping review, all carried out in China, found that PBL was more effective than lecture-based learning in improving knowledge and other skills (clinical, problem-solving, self-learning and collaborative) [40, 51, 53, 58].”
From Effectiveness of problem-based learning methodology in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
The four meta-analysis included in this review show results clearly favorable to PBL methodology in terms of knowledge, clinical skills, problem-solving, self-learning and satisfaction.
“the four meta-analysis included in this review, which included a high number of participants, show results that are clearly favorable to the PBL methodology in terms of knowledge, clinical skills, problem-solving, self-learning and satisfaction [40, 51, 53, 58].”
From Effectiveness of problem-based learning methodology in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
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- Authors
- Ma, Y., & Lu, X.
- Affiliations
- Sichuan University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Lu, Xiaoxi
- ORCID
- Venue
- Medicine
- Published
- 2019-01
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- e14052
- ISSN
- 0025-7974 (ISSN-L)
- 1536-5964
- PMC
- PMC6336616
- OpenAlex
- W2909164280
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 1.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Department of Science and Technology of Sichuan Province (2017FZ0056)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Problem and Project Based Learning
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biomedical and Engineering Education
- Keywords
- problem-based learning, pediatric medical education, lecture-based learning, medical students, theoretical knowledge, clinical skills, case analysis, teaching methods comparison, China
- MeSH terms
- China, Education, Medical, Humans, Pediatrics, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Problem-Based Learning
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