Problem based learning: Does it provide appropriate levels of guidance and flexibility for use in police recruit education?

Education programs for police recruits have often been criticised for their over-reliance on teacher-centred approaches that are less than ideal for promoting functional knowledge and critical thinking skills. Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which is suggested as an alternative, has been criticised for not providing novice learners with appropriate levels of guidance. This paper, drawing on the author’s experiences of a ‘Police PBL’ course originating in North America, will discuss whether this PBL model provides appropriate levels of scaffolding for novice learners in police recruit education. It also discusses how guidance for learners can be utilized in a hybrid PBL model at the New South Wales (NSW) Police College. It is concluded that the Police PBL model provides flexible guidance to novice learners via a range of scaffolding strategies. A hybrid PBL curriculum is also proposed to seek a more effective balance of teacher and learner-centred approaches.