Each student was given two handouts. The second was a specific checklist which enabled the student to ask particular questions of each component. Students were expected to use the checklist to analyze critically a brief report from a current journal in Pharmacology. Many courses expect primary literature to be reviewed to obtain the most up to date information in specific topics. What most of these courses fail to do is point out the inconsistencies of these papers.
Many students believe implicitly in the conclusions drawn from research papers.
The critical analysis component of this course highlights these inconsistencies and provides students with a mechanism to truly assess the information provided and place it in an appropriate context. The course accomplishes this by giving the students a particular research paper and a set of general guidelines or questions that the student can ask about the paper. This provided a structured approach to the process of critically analyzing a paper allowing for a general applicability. The Teacher's View Amongst the advantages of PBL courses is the opportunity that students have to pursue subjects that particularly interest them. Although the course described dealt with the principles of pharmacology, it was necessary that students acquired some familiarity with applied aspects.