Collective practices in problem-based learning

This paper provides insight into the collaborative practices we are engaging in as reflective educators. It illustrates the practicalities of scaffolded problem-based learning (PBL) in a tourism curriculum. PBL provides an authentic learning experience that bridges theory and practice. We outline the scaffolding through the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, where the structuredness of the problem and the self-directness of the learner increase over time (Hung, 2011). Challenges of PBL relate to stakeholder management and project design, and student engagement. Implications of this paper may be of interest especially to colleagues who aim to integrate PBL in a scaffolded and cohesive way within programmes, as this requires all academic staff to adopt appropriate practices and be aware of the challenges and their impacts on organisation and workload while simultaneously designing courses not individually but as part of a more comprehensive learning and teaching approach.