Author(s)

Zhang Nan ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ International Nursing School, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, 571137, China

Corresponding Author

Zhang Nan

ABSTRACT

Problem-based learning (PBL) is widely advocated in nursing education to promote clinical reasoning, collaboration, and self-directed learning, but evidence specific to vocational nursing students remains dispersed across designs and settings. Recent syntheses generally indicate that PBL enhances critical thinking compared with lecture-based approaches, and the gains tend to be stronger and more consistent when PBL is coupled with case-based learning or simulation activities aligned to realistic clinical tasks. Findings on problem-solving performance and confidence are heterogeneous, reflecting variations in measurement and implementation fidelity. Drawing on recent reviews and empirical studies, this paper narratively synthesizes the current status of PBL with attention to vocational contexts and explains how learner preparation, tutor facilitation, case authenticity, assessment design, institutional resources, and technology readiness shape outcomes. The paper then offers an integrated, practice-oriented account of how to stage PBL in time-constrained vocational programs-beginning with authentic triggers, scaffolding early self-directed inquiry, using short simulation "proofs of learning," and assessing process and products together-before outlining gaps for future research. 

KEYWORDS

Problem-Based Learning; Vocational Education; Vocational University; Nursing Students

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhang Nan, Problem-Based Learning Applied among Vocational Nursing Students: Current Status and Influencing Factors. Curriculum and Teaching Methodology (2025) Vol. 8: 185-189. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/curtm.2025.080724.

REFERENCES

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Sponsors, Associates, and Links

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• Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology
  
  
• Transactions on Comparative Education
  
  
• Applied & Educational Psychology
  
  
• Advances in Vocational and Technical Education
  
  
• Adult and Higher Education