Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method where student learning occurs in the context of solving an authentic problem. PBL was initially developed out of an instructional need to help medical school students learn their basic sciences knowledge in a way that would be more lasting while helping to develop clinical skills…

Are there different kinds of design problems? Jonassen (2011) argued that problems vary in terms of structuredness, complexity, and context. On the structuredness and complexity continua, design problems tend to be the most ill-structured and complex. Brown and Chandrasekaran suggest that design problems may vary along a continuum from…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional model that assumes the centrality of problems to learning. Research on PBL has focused on student learning, student roles, tutor roles, problem design, and technology use (Hung, Jonassen, & Liu, 2008), but little attention in the PBL literature has been paid to the nature of the problems that…

This qualitative case study examines the initial implementation of a problem-based version of an undergraduate course in materials science for the purpose of identifying areas of improvement to the curriculum prior to a planned second implementation. The course was designed around problems that students work in small teams to solve under the…

Suggests that as professors contemplate designing and implementing problem-based learning, they are likely to encounter many obstacles that may persuade them to abandon their efforts. To help alleviate these problems, this article provides insights into how professors overcome these obstacles. (SWM)

This case study examines the application of problem-based learning to the teaching of introductory instructional design (ISD). Suggests that ISD is a dynamic process of problem understanding and problem solution and that ISD instruction should therefore focus more on the problem attributes and not on the generality of the systems approach model.…

Discusses the increased emphasis on problem solving and problem-based learning in instructional design and the need for new methods for task analysis and models for designing instruction. Defines the rationale and means for analyzing, organizing, and presenting stories to support problem solving by case-based reasoning. (Author/LRW)