A Short Intellectual History of Problem‐Based Learning

When the question of the origin of problem‐based learning (PBL) arises in the literature, the consensus tends to be that the method was born at McMaster University in 1969, and that the ideas underpinning this program were in some way linked to the writings of the American philosopher John Dewey (Kolmos, Fink, & Krogh, 2004; Schmidt, 1993). From there, speculations abound as to the specifics of the history of PBL, with some asserting that the American neurologist Howard Barrows was its originator (Hillen, Scherpbier, & Wijnen, 2010), and others claiming a link to the Socratic Method described in Plato’s Meno (Schmidt, 2012). In the contemporary turbulent context of higher education worldwide, some educators are prone to considering PBL as a panacea for all educational ills, while others vociferously resist its implementation. This sometimes leads to impassioned debates about the benefits or drawbacks of PBL at conferences, faculty boards, and in staff rooms that more resemble clashes of opposing political factions than reasoned educational arguments. To allow an informed debate about the ways in which PBL could serve education going forward, one must first understand where it came from; therefore, one must uncover its history. In 2012, the authors undertook that task, using archival evidence collected from McMaster University, Maastricht University, and the two Danish Reformed Universities of Roskilde and Aalborg; oral history interviews from all four institutions and other institutions relevant to the early history of PBL; contemporary publications that indicate the development of thinking about PBL; and secondary sources reflecting on the history of PBL. These materials were processed using Whewell’s inductive method of historical analysis (Whewell, 1858). This chapter summarizes the key findings of this 4‐year research project to provide a broad overview of the history and development of PBL. A Short Intellectual History of Problem‐Based Learning