The Power of Problem-Based Learning in Extracurricular Activity: How a Peer-Led Club Contributed to Critical Thinking

• In Event: Learning and Development Across the Disciplines

Abstract

Informal learning plays an important role in college student engagement (Mayhew et al., 2016); how participation in peer-led extracurricular activities can also lead to cognitive development has been less clear. This qualitative study sought to understand whether a peer-led club with a prehealth focus could foster development in participants’ critical thinking (CT). The used a problem-based learning (PBL) model to; participants from freshmen to juniors worked collaboratively find answers to medical “cases.” The study focused on whether they would be able to use CT strategies to resolve difficult problems and to move beyond apparent dead-ends. CT use increased over time. We argue that the club’s peer-led PBL structure lends itself to multiple disciplines for which it is a potential model.

Authors

• Carol Cuthbertson Thompson, Rowan University

• Kelsey Opalack, Rowan University