Is hybrid-PBL advancing teaching in biomedicine? A systematic review.
BACKGROUND
The impact of instructional guidance on learning outcomes in higher biomedical education is subject of intense debate. There is the teacher-centered or traditional way of teaching (TT) and, on the other side, the notion that students learn best under minimal guidance such as problem-based learning (PBL). Although the benefits of PBL are well-known, there are aspects susceptible to improvement. Hence, a format merging TT and PBL (hybrid-PBL, h-PBL) may advance education in biomedical sciences.


METHODS
Studies that employed h-PBL in higher biomedical education compared to TT and/or pure PBL were systematically reviewed. Specifically, this review addressed the following question: does h-PBL in biomedical sciences result in superior marks and a better student's perception of the teaching and learning process?


RESULTS
We found that the use of h-PBL in higher biomedical sciences was superior compared to TT and pure-PBL. This was evidenced by the higher performance of the students in h-PBL as well as the level of student's satisfaction as compared to TT or pure PBL.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings encourage more research on investigating the pedagogical benefits of h-PBL. In addition, these data support an eclectic system in which the pedagogical tools from TT and PBL are used cooperatively in the best interest of the education and satisfaction of the students.
['Jiménez-Saiz|Rodrigo|R|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0606-3251', 'Rosace|Domenico|D|']
D001690:Biological Science Disciplines D004501:Education, Medical D018794:Problem-Based Learning D013337:Students, Medical D013663:Teaching
Hybrid-PBL Biomedicine Systematic review Higher education Hybrid problem-based learning