Understanding silence in problem-based learning: a case study at an English medium university in Asia

Problem-based learning (PBL) has increasingly been employed as a teaching and learning approach in many disciplines in higher education. Since PBL might be regarded as a dramatic departure from what students have experienced before entry to undergraduate studies, it is necessary to examine how first year undergraduate students adapt to the high level of knowledge and communication demands that PBL entails. In particular, there is a need to examine Asian undergraduate students' silence in PBL tutorials. This article reports on a study that explored first year dental students' practices and perceptions of silence in PBL tutorials at an English medium university in Asia. Eight successive PBL tutorials sessions were videotaped. Significant episodes of silence in these tutorials were then identified, edited and extracted into one media file per tutorial. The participants were invited to attend stimulated recall interviews during which they viewed the edited excerpts. In the stimulated recall interviews, they were encouraged to freely recall about, and comment on, their own and their groups' interaction processes. Students' practices and perceptions of silence are likely to affect knowledge construction and group dynamics in PBL tutorials. Analysis revealed that students' silence can be regarded as a positive and constructive means of participation and learning contributing to the success of an ongoing PBL process. Interactional control (e.g. turn taking, exchange ideas and topic control) and non-verbal behavior in PBL tutorials can be highlighted to assist facilitators' understanding of silence.