This book is designed for medical teachers who wish to consider problem-based learning as an educational method to be used in their courses or curriculum in medical school. The first six chapters elaborate the background for a well-designed problem-based learning curriculum by considering the goals of undergraduate medical education, the challenge…

Closing the Loop (CTL) is a science curriculum designed to introduce students to integrated waste management through awareness. This document presents five lesson plans focusing on developing an understanding of natural resources, solid wastes, conservation, and the life of landfills. Contents include: (1) "What Are Natural Resources?"; (2)…

Research reveals that successful problem solvers must possess comprehensive knowledge, and more importantly, have appropriate knowledge organization and understanding. A new taxonomy of medical problems is recommended, and it is suggested that the traditional hypothetico-deductive strategy for problem-based learning be replaced by scheme-driven…

The computer numerical control (CNC) flatbed router is a powerful tool and a must-have piece of equipment for any technology education program in which students will produce a product--whether it involves Manufacturing, Materials Processing, or any of the vast array of Project Lead the Way courses. This article describes an activity--producing a…

Creating activities that model engineering design as it appears in industry provides great experience for technology students. Design in general creates an element with special regard to its form and function. Engineering design involves doing that, and going beyond to produce an efficient product that addresses its intended purpose. In this…

The author discusses the definition of the ordinary points and the regular singular points of a homogeneous linear ordinary differential equation (ODE). The material of this note can find classroom use as enrichment material in courses on ODEs, in particular, to reinforce the unit on the Existence-Uniqueness Theorem for solutions of initial value…

The general chemistry course at Harvey Mudd College presents chemical principles and addresses technology's impact on society. Students consider environmental and economic implications of chemical scenarios in real-world case studies created for team-based analysis and discussion. Case study design, implementation, and assessment are presented.…

In this study, with selecting the focusing point of the problem as the availability of cartoons, the teaching of global environmental problems according to the constructivist theory is investigated on the 7th graders in rural areas. This study is restricted with the global warming (G), ozone depletion (O) and the acid rain (A) problems. In the…

This research tends to make the experimental study on the mathematics teaching model of "situated creation and problem-based instruction" (SCPBI), namely, the teaching process of "creating situations--posing problems--solving problems--applying mathematics". It is aimed at changing the situation where students generally lack…

This Digest discusses Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a method developed by H.S. Barrows (1986), and originally created to prepare medical students for real-world problems by letting them solve medical problems based on real cases. The Digest contends that PBL can situate language learning in the real world by posing problems like those found in…

Pharmaceutical educators must begin to challenge the entrenched forms of pharmaceutical education and explore alternative teaching methods, including problem-based learning. (MSE)

Concept maps are used at the Cornell University (New York) college of veterinary medicine for curriculum planning, particularly development of problem-based cases for classroom use. The maps help prioritize concepts, refine objectives and details, articulate links between aspects of a case, and support overall course design. (MSE)

The combination of students, local history, researching, and problem-based learning creates a powerful opportunity for learning to all involved. This article provides one example of how an elementary teacher and a teacher educator have used local resources and problem-based learning to teach a fourth grade unit about human communities and the…

Reading Harry Potter aloud to the class one autumn sparked the students imaginations and also the authors'. As a result, that semester the author designed and taught a thematic unit based on Harry Potter. The students were able to identify with the 11-year old wizard and his adventures in a strange new world. In mathematics, language arts, and…

This article presents a classroom project that employs various techniques of active learning including role-playing, collaborative group work and writing. The project explores the recent creation of the European Monetary Union (EMU) with special emphasis on the introduction of the euro. The project assumes that the Americas have begun preliminary…