A strength of the pilot study was the quasi-experimental design that controlled several variables that are typically difficult to manage in real-world settings. Both groups were taught by the same instructor, used the same materials and activities, and were taught on the same days for the same amount of instructional time. Both classes were taught in the afternoons. The instructor was able to maintain the integrity of both pedagogies as evidenced by the comparable scores in content knowledge for both groups. The classes differed only in that the instruction in the experimental classroom was placed within the context of solving an authentic, real-world problem (i.e., the PBL experimental group).