PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) AS COGNITIVE REFORM IN CLINICAL EDUCATION

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is increasingly recognized as a key pedagogical approach in clinical education due to its alignment with competency-based and practice-oriented curricula.This study looks at PBL as a cognitive reform that improves information integration, clinical reasoning, and higher-order thinking.PBL fosters self-directed, collaborative, and experiential learning through real-world clinical problem-solving, according to the study, which is based on a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of recent curricular reforms, including NCISM recommendations, and contemporary literature.By stimulating reasoning, memory integration, and adaptive decision-making, PBL engages across a range of cognitive domains, enabling students to convert theoretical information into useful clinical understanding.PBL promotes metacognitive growth and critical thinking by rethinking the position of the instructor as a facilitator.An extensive structure to strengthen clinical competence and meaningful learning is provided through the integration of PBL with understanding of perception and neurological processes.