Beginning with the introduction "What is Problem-Based Learning?" we read that students work in small groups on problems (cases, research papers) where they attempt to define the broad nature of the problem and pose questions about aspects of the problem that they do not understand. The group decides which questions they wish to address and these "learning issues" are then assigned to individuals for library research. When the group reconvenes, individuals share with one another the fruits of their labor. At this stage, they may receive new information from the teacher, leading them to a reanalysis of the problem--and often requiring that they search for more information on the Internet or in the printed literature. At the third session when the group reassembles, the problem is usually resolved and a new problem presented.

As medical schools across the country have discovered, the PBL approach produces remarkable students who are whizzes at solving complex problems and conducting extensive literature searches. Their skills in teamwork are clearly enhanced, although the road to smooth teamwork is often a bumpy one. Neophytes to collaborative/cooperative learning methods will welcome Allen and Duch's chapters on "Working in Groups" and "Forms to Help your Group Function Well," "Jigsaw Grouping," and "Concept Mapping." But the guts of the book are the problems or case studies.

There are 25 superb cases in the book, most of them written by Allen. They range through virtually every topic that would be covered in a general biology class. Here's a sample of some of the case titles designed to capture the attention of the reader. It's hard not to be intrigued by titles such as "The Curse of the Mummy," a problem about infectious disease, or "Kryptonite in His Pocket," a true metabolic mystery involving America's great bicycle racer, Greg LeMond. There are the expected genetic problems, "When Twins Marry Twins," "A Mix-up at the Fertility Clinic," and "To Be Tested or Not To Be Tested," a case involving Huntington's disease. There are tales in ecology such as "Camping with Caterpillars," "Where Have All the Froggies Gone," and "The Geritol Solution," based upon a speculation that global warming could be addressed by dumping iron into the ocean. But there are unexpected cases on biological clocks ("Beat the Clock"), plant hormones and the life cycle of angiosperms ("Martha Wants a Blue Ribbon at the Flower Show"), high altitude adaptation ("An Andean Adventure"), and neurophysiology ("Patty's Pet Palace"). If these titles aren't enough to make you want to call the publisher, you are beyond saving.

My only quibble with this book is that it is labeled as a student's manual (an instructor's manual is separate). Yet when a student starts to work with the cases, they can easily flip ahead (and they surely will do so) to see the second and third stages in the problem. In the normal PBL classroom this would never happen, of course, where separate handouts are given. I don't know how much of a distraction or aid this would be if they have the whole story laid out in front of them. Perhaps very little. Nonetheless, the problem exists. If one is to produce a textbook of PBL cases for students, this problem seems inevitable. It may be enough to dissuade instructors from ordering the book for their students. But this will not be a deterrent to any faculty member who wishes to see a brilliant example of how PBL cases are written.

--Clyde Freeman Herreid, State University of New York at Buffalo