Promoting Skills for Innovation in Higher Education: A Literature Review on the Effectiveness of Problem-based Learning and of Teaching Behaviours

Higher education plays an important role in providing people with skills for innovation, but a number of important questions remain as to what kind of higher education teaching can be conducive to the strengthening of skills for innovation. This report aims to shed light on this issue by reviewing the current evidence on the effectiveness of problem-based learning compared with more traditional approaches in higher education teaching. It explores the extent to which problem-based learning can be an effective way to develop different discipline-specific and transferable skills for innovation. Research, primarily from the field of medicine, shows that problem-based learning appears to be beneficial in fostering certain aspects of skills for innovation. In addition, the report explores the literature on direct teaching behaviours that may help foster student learning in more traditional teaching settings. Despite the promising evidence linking problem-based learning and effective teaching in higher education to certain aspects of skills for innovation, more work is needed in this area. There is strong potential for further research to provide additional important insights into the development of skills for innovation.