What’s the problem with PBL?

Problem Based Learning (PBL) was developed as a response to concerns about the capacity of traditional, didactic teaching methods to prepare graduates for clinical practice and life long learning. In an era of exponentially increasing information overload and concerns for the psychological well-being of young graduates, PBL’s premise to provide students with opportunities to 'learn how to learn' in a social constructivist educational setting is enticing. An inherent emphasis on problem solving and group interdependence offer the student opportunities for metacognitive and social development, and provide respite from the burden of content overload and teacher dependence implicit in many didactic approaches.