· The ability to collaborate
· The presence to take initiatives
· The drive to be team players
· The passion to be resourceful
· The quality to see issues from diverse angles
· The resourcefulness to be adaptable and independent.

The following Pictures Figs. 1.2 &3 show actively engaged PBL classes

Fig 1	Fig 2
Fig 3

Some quotes from students as well as employers will attest to this: "Personally, I know how much PBL has done for me not only as a student but also as a person character wise. It was not easy to learn to collaborate, to delegate, to discover, to give impartial feedback but I can only say I have survived and it has helped me grow". Chitra Kumar - A Graduate from Dip. Marketing 2003. I suddenly got one more point to add about using and learning the PBL approach. Students are more independent and take chance of their own learning.
No offence but when I work with other students from other polytechnics in Singapore, I realise that we tend to use different approaches towards learning. For example: whenever we come across anything that we don't understand in the text or in the assignment, I will dig out my dictionary, my books or look for other sources to help clarify my enquiry. Very seldom will I go look for my lecturers and tutors to ask them to explain about certain theories. I will always try and look up things myself and I learn from all the various sources that I got my information from. It enforces all my theories provided in the textbooks and allows for better applications. But other students tend to still use the "spoon-feeding"
approach. When they come across anything that they don't know, anything that they cannot find, they will come looking for help and expect you to tell the websites and the books that you found your information from so that they can go look for their parts of the information. They don't understand anything in the textbook; they will want the tutors or look for students to explain it in full to them. They won't take initiatives in their own learning and always expect others to provide them with the information etc which certainty won't happen in the workplace. So yah.. that is a very significant difference... and I think that is one of the points that will enable TP HTM division to become a world class institution - independent students

Christina Chua
University of Southern Queensland, 2003
Australia.

Employer Quotes:

"PBL has an impact - they can independently identify the problem but were grappling with the solution - they had a plan A but if plan A does not go through then plan B is not forthcoming"

"Exposure and personality have a big impact on PBL"

Generally students have shown confidence with the exception of a few that they are able to hold themselves where the problem is concerned but they are still motivated by the grades"

"One clear evidence of PBL is team work"


Mohamed Ismail Hussain
Managing Director
Globus Executive Holidays Pte Ltd