The projected number of engineering professionals will increase in the next decade. Implementing instructional technology to support engineering students in creating design solutions to authentic problems may lead to a more significant number of engineering graduates. The problem is knowing the extent to which parametric 3-dimensional…

The purpose of this action research study was to explore the impact of problem-based learning on science instruction in my eighth-grade college preparatory classroom. Constructivism was the framework for this study. Problem-based learning is based on constructivist principles, and it served as the instructional model for this study. PBL can foster…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how high school teachers describe problem-based learning as an instructional model for student learning in various academic disciplines in the United States. The research was grounded in constructivist learning theory and Problem-based learning (PBL). The study addressed two research…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to determine if, and to what extent, technology-enhanced problem-based formative assessment instruction would have an impact on college students' algebra learning and development of critical thinking skills, when compared to traditional classroom instruction in a first-year college…

This study explores how upper-grade elementary makers' spaces reveal creative thinking and critical thinking in identified and unidentified gifted students. It provides evidence that the situated learning context of makers' spaces elicit high-level motivation through constructionist practices and 21st century learning processes that leads to…

"Place-based education" refers to pedagogy that connects student learning with the local environment and students' lives. Educators' preoccupation with standardized test scores have increased the disconnect between formal education and student's life experiences. Schools have developed systems of learning in isolated subjects through…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather data on the scaffolding a facilitator developed and used for learners during a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) setting. The study explored how the learners developed their ability to share their understanding and current knowledge by solving the presented real-world problem through investigation…

The kindergarten program at the study site transitioned from half day to full day, yet the curriculum was not updated to accommodate the full day schedule, or to include best practices. In order to prepare learners for their future in education, activities were implemented to determine how problem based learning can promote acquisition of the 21st…

A principal goal of higher education is to prepare students for the real-world challenges they will encounter upon graduation in their everyday life, in their work and in society. While discipline specific content knowledge is an important component of a college education, a 2010 survey of employers conducted for the Association of American…

Youth civic engagement in the United States is at an all time low (Barber 1998; Galston, 2004, Owen, 2008). Youth are routinely characterized as civically apathetic, disengaged, and ignorant (Niemi & Junn, 1998; Putnam, 2000; Ravitch & Finn, 1987). Or, as Owen (2008) succinctly puts it, "young people in America have long anchored the…

The design of online or distributed problem-based learning (dPBL) is a nascent, complex design problem. Instructional designers are challenged to effectively unite the constructivist principles of problem-based learning (PBL) with appropriate media in order to create quality dPBL environments. While computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools and…

Federal mandates require technology use in the classroom, but not all English language arts (ELA) teachers have implemented technology as an integral part of teaching. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why ELA teachers in 2 local high schools rarely or never use technology as an instructional tool. The study was…

This descriptive case study explored how repurposing and a pedagogical-based instructional design model, the multimodal model (Picciano, 2009), were used to create quality courses in a rapid development setting at a Midwestern land grant university. Data triangulation was used to secure data from faculty member interviews, course syllabi, and…

This research is the product of blending two pertinent questions. The first question is: "What are the guidelines and behaviors that define a Constructivist classroom?" There have not been a great number of pedagogical tools that discuss and summarize concrete, observable Constructivist behaviors. The second question is: "Is there a unique form of…