The emerging field of urban ecology has the potential to engage urban youth in the practices of scientists by studying a locally relevant environmental problem. To this end, we are developing curriculum modules designed to engage students in learning science through the use of emerging information technology. In this paper, we describe the impact…

Research spanning the last thirty years confirms that people learn better by active enquiry, collaboration and experimental problem solving than by passive reception and acceptance of information. Empirical evidence, as well as the pressing demands of pervasive social and technological change, requires learning and teaching approaches that combine…

The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology placing primary emphasis on students solving realistic problems in a team-oriented environment. In this article, authors discuss using PBL to integrate a language for specific purposes (LSP) track into an undergraduate biological engineering curriculum as a way to prepare students for an…

The problem-centered learning model for gifted students is described and applied to development of learning experiences that are organized around exploration of past, present, and future perspectives of trends, problems, events, and phenomena in the social sciences. Ways to use problem-centered learning in regular classrooms, special programs for…

Discusses experiences with the use of problem-based learning as applied to knowledge-rich biochemistry courses. Concludes that problem-based learning is not only effective in promoting habits of mind that support higher order thinking but also a powerful vehicle for conveying knowledge by imparting separate bits of knowledge as interconnected…

Five problem-based learning activities tested by fourth-grade gifted students are suggested. Each open-ended problem is intended to be worked on by a small group for 30 minutes. Student reactions are quoted and analyzed, noting that students became more willing to take risks, test the properties and limits of their materials, and learn from their…

Discusses how information literacy efforts at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences have been supported by national trends within health science education to incorporate evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning into the curriculum. Describes effects on librarians, including requests for more instruction, creating…

Recounts the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in a cooperative learning environment by a teacher in a technical- and professional-related discipline. States that PBL frees students from restrictions and forces the instructor to release control of the learning process. Sample worksheets appended. (Contains 11 references.) (AUTH/NB)

The format and production of the portable patient problem pack, a patient simulation method designed for problem-based learning, are described. Clinical and didactic applications and development of materials specifically for optometric education are discussed and additional information for designing optometry-related materials is appended.…

The University of Calgary medical school revised its curriculum based on the way patients present to physicians. The curriculum defines 120 clinical presentations; describes appropriate clinical behavior of a graduating physician for each presentation; and specifies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by the graduate for clinical…

A proposed problem-based course in clinical diabetes therapy at a pharmacy school is outlined. The interdisciplinary course requires students to develop or reformulate declarative and procedural knowledge in such a way that students' cognitive strategies are enhanced. Several sample clinical cases are appended. (MSE)

For three years, Center for Problem-Based Learning at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy has been developing innovative programs in various K-12 settings. Students meet an "ill-structured problem" (like thorium waste) before receiving instruction. Teachers act as coaches and tutors, probing findings, hypotheses, and conclusions;…

The University of California, Davis, medical school's intensive summer preentry program for disadvantaged minority students, which previews the first year curriculum, has incorporated a problem-based learning component to augment and prolong its effects. Objective measures of course effectiveness are unavailable; however, self-esteem, study…

Describes a summer institute curriculum used with 27 middle school students with disabilities who were identified as gifted in the visual arts, performing arts, engineering, or life sciences. The curriculum was real world, multidisciplinary, and problem based. Using a creative problem-solving process, students identified problems, developed…