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Problem and Project Based Learning

Problem and Project Based Learning is a research topic within Education. Science Explorer counts 17k research works in it since 1952. 10.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the impact and implementation of problem-based learning (PBL), project-based learning, and team-based learning in various educational settings. It discusses the effectiveness of PBL on student engagement, critical thinking, and academic achievement, as well as its application in engineering education and medical schools. The cluster also addresses the challenges and strategies for implementing PBL, along with comparisons to traditional lecture-based learning.

  • Problem-Based Learning
  • Project-Based Learning
  • Team-Based Learning
  • Active Learning
  • Student Engagement
  • Educational Strategies
  • Critical Thinking
  • Curriculum Development
  • Assessment Methods
  • Engineering Education
Research works
17k
fractional, since 1952
In the world top 10%
1.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+15%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
31% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Problem and Project Based Learning

Which countries lead Problem and Project Based Learning research?

By volume, the United States and Indonesia publish the most (983 and 834 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 983 works
  2. 2 Indonesia 834 works
  3. 3 China 362 works
  4. 4 India 297 works
  5. 5 Malaysia 138 works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 136 works
  7. 7 Spain 120 works
  8. 8 Brazil 112 works
  9. 9 Türkiye 104 works
  10. 10 Canada 96 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 30.9%Indonesia: 26.2%China: 11.4%India: 9.3%6 others listed: 22.2%31%largest
United States983 · 30.9%Indonesia834 · 26.2%China362 · 11.4%India297 · 9.3%6 others listed705 · 22.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Problem and Project Based Learning research?

By volume in 2022-now, State University of Malang publishes the most Problem and Project Based Learning research, followed by Indonesia University of Education and Yogyakarta State University.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 State University of MalangIndonesia 46 works
  2. 2 Indonesia University of EducationIndonesia 44 works
  3. 3 Yogyakarta State UniversityIndonesia 39 works
  4. 4 State University of PadangIndonesia 36 works
  5. 5 Universitas Negeri SurabayaIndonesia 32 works
  6. 6 State University of MedanIndonesia 32 works
  7. 7 Aalborg UniversityDenmark 26 works
  8. 8 State University of MakassarIndonesia 24 works
  9. 9 University of MataramIndonesia 22 works
  10. 10 State University of SemarangIndonesia 22 works

What are the most cited papers in Problem and Project Based Learning?

The most cited paper in Problem and Project Based Learning is "Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn?" (Cindy E. Hmelo‐Silver, 2004), with 5,206 citations. Next come "Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning" (3,194) and "Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions" (2,675).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn? Cindy E. Hmelo‐Silver · Educational Psychology Review 7 Jul 2004 5,206
2 Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning Phyllis C. Blumenfeld, Elliot M. Soloway, Ronald W. Marx et al. · Educational Psychologist Jun 1991 3,194
3 Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions John Savery · Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning Open access 22 May 2006 2,675
4 Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: A Response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) Cindy E. Hmelo‐Silver, Ravit Golan Duncan, Clark A. Chinn · Educational Psychologist 26 Apr 2007 2,612
5 The Transition Robert G. Petersdorf · Academic Medicine 1993 2,512
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Problem and Project Based Learning research done?

The largest centres of Problem and Project Based Learning research in 2022-now are Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Malang (Indonesia), Bandung (Indonesia) and Padang (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Monterrey, Aalborg and Jambi City.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 YogyakartaIndonesia 66 works
  2. 2 MalangIndonesia 64 works
  3. 3 BandungIndonesia 60 works
  4. 4 PadangIndonesia 49 works
  5. 5 MedanIndonesia 45 works
  6. 6 JakartaIndonesia 43 works
  7. 7 SurabayaIndonesia 42 works
  8. 8 SemarangIndonesia 41 works
  9. 9 BeijingChina 37 works
  10. 10 BangkokThailand 35 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. MonterreyMX · 20.9 works12×
  2. AalborgDK · 26.4 works9.7×
  3. Jambi CityID · 21.3 works6.1×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Problem and Project Based Learning than the world average.

See Problem and Project Based Learning on the map

Where is the best place to study Problem and Project Based Learning?

Among universities, judged by research, Eindhoven University of Technology, State University of Malang and Tecnológico de Monterrey score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 14.75%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Eindhoven University…University of Techno…Tecnológico de Monte…State University of …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Eindhoven University of TechnologyNetherlands 70.127.4%6.0×9 +254.2%
2State University of MalangIndonesia 64.77.2%11.3×46 +48.1%
3Tecnológico de MonterreyMexico 63.610.2%18.7×21 +27.6%
4University of Technology MalaysiaMalaysia 58.418.3%7.1×14 +76.8%
5Aalborg UniversityDenmark 57.816.0%10.7×26 -42.1%
6Yogyakarta State UniversityIndonesia 57.34.9%16.0×38 +37.0%
7Zhejiang UniversityChina 57.135.6%0.8×10 +273.7%
8University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 56.522.8%3.5×9 +30.4%
9Indonesia University of EducationIndonesia 54.51.9%10.4×44 +25.4%
10State University of PadangIndonesia 51.33.2%7.9×36 +70.3%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Problem and Project Based Learning, country by country

Is Problem and Project Based Learning research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 15% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Problem and Project Based Learning.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Problem and Project Based Learning as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.024% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Problem and Project Based Learning0.023% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Problem and Project Based Learning over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Problem and Project Based Learning10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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