Readers concerned with dental education are invited to contribute their comments and suggestions on a new problem-based learning (PBL) document that has been published online.

Entitled A whole system approach to problem-based learning in dental, medical and veterinary sciences – a guide to important variables, the guide is aimed at designers or researchers of new or revised curricula and provides a set of principles and models for implementing a whole programme of PBL.

Problem-based learning sets out to enable students to be active learners by presenting them with real problems that they may have to deal with in their professional careers. Students work in small groups to explore the situation facing them, leading them to pose questions they wish to research in order to manage the problem.

The guide has been produced by a group of distinguished academic practitioners from Australia and the UK lead by Professor Charles Engel, University of London, with funding from the Centre of Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning at the University of Manchester. According to Prof Engel, evidence-based practice calls for evidence-based education, and this evidence needs to be based on critical evaluation of the design and implementation of the curriculum. The guide addresses key issues that are often overlooked in writing on PBL and sets out to describe thirteen important variables, including recruitment and selection of students and the requisites for initiating and maintaining an innovative curriculum.

The guide can be found online at http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/ceebl/resources/resourcepacks/pblsystemapproach_v1.pdf. Any comments or suggestions for improvement should be directed to Professor David Powis, Newcastle University, New South Wales, Australia, by email at david.powis@newcastle.edu.au.