10 2006 Vol 17 No 1 | The Journal of Physician Assistant Education INTRODUCTION Over the past three decades, prob- lem-based learning (PBL) has been introduced increasingly into medical education. A 2003 survey of 123 accredited medical schools in the United States found that 70% of these schools use some PBL in the pre- clinical years and a further 7% had used it in the past. 1 PBL has also been adopted in medical education institutions throughout the world, for instance in Maastricht, the Netherlands; 2 Chang Gung, China; 3 Dharan, Nepal; 4 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia; 5 and Newcastle, Australia. 6 Problem-based learning is based on a learning model derived from educational theory, particularly inquiry learning, contextual learn- ing, and constructivism. 7-9 PBL strives to develop effective clinical reasoning and self-directed learning skills in the context of solving clinical problems. 10 There is extensive research literature on the effective- ness of PBL as compared to tradi- tional lecture-based learning (LBL) models in medical schools. However, no similar comparative research has been conducted in physician assistant (PA) education, even though PA edu- cation is considerably shorter than medical education and services a dif- ferent demographic. 11 Despite the lack of research targeting PA education, 76% of the 101 respondents to a recent survey of PA programs used some form of PBL in their curricu- lum, although only 9% used PBL in more than 50% of their courses. 12 To address this research deficit, a 5-year study funded by Health Resources and Services Administra- tion (HRSA) was undertaken in the PA program at Western Michigan University (WMU) to compare the educational outcomes of LBL and PBL pedagogies. In the fall of 2000, two parallel curricular tracks were offered during the didactic year of the 2-year master’s degree program, one employing lecture-based learning and the other problem-based learn- ing. During the second year, all stu- dents participated in clinical rota- tions and no distinction was made Influence of Curriculum Pedagogy on Student Knowledge Acquisition in Physician Assistant Training: Preliminary Findings C. Sonia Wardley, MA; E. Brooks Applegate, PhD; James A. Van Rhee, MS, PA-C C. Sonia Wardley, MA, is a faculty specialist in the Physician Assistant Program, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. E. Brooks Applegate, PhD, is a profes- sor and coordinator of the graduate program in Evaluation, Measurement, and Research, Western Michigan University. James A. Van Rhee, MS, PA-C, is the director of the Physician Assistant Program, Western Michigan University. Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Sonia Wardley, MA Western Michigan University Physician Assistant Program 1903 West Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49008 Voice: 269-387-5311 Fax: 269-387-5319 E-mail: wardley@wmich.edu RESEARCH ARTICLE Purpose: This study was initiated to address a lack of research in problem-based learning in physician assistant (PA) education. The prelim- inary findings of the first 3 years of an ongoing 5-year longitudinal study to compare students’ academic performance in parallel lecture- based learning (LBL) and problem-based learning (PBL) curricular tracks of a 2-year master’s program are reported. Methods: A compre- hensive examination was administered to all students enrolled in the LBL and PBL curricular tracks on five occasions: at the beginning of the program to establish baseline knowledge, and then at 5 months, 9 months, 12 months, and 24 months. These scores, along with stu- dent performance on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) were analyzed. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the LBL and PBL group scores at any measurement point including on the PANCE (all p’s < 0.05). Conclusions: The pattern of students' acquisition of knowledge as measured by standardized tests was similar in both the LBL and PBL cur- ricula. Journal of Physician Assistant Education 2006; 17(1):10-17