Inquiry Based And Problem Based Learning: How Similar are these Approaches to Nursing and Medical Education?

‐‐ Inquiry based learning is evolving as another curriculum model which may help to revitalize nursing and other professions education programs in the same way that problem based learning has rejuvenated medical education in the last 25 years. This paper briefly outlines both PBL and IBL approaches, and compares their philosophies, methods and context. Inquiry based learning may be more attractive to a wider range of vocational training and professions education programs because of its flexibility in choice of methods, less emphasis on teaching specific problem‐solving paradigms, and less reliance on resource‐intensive learning experiences.