Many universities throughout the world apply student-centered approaches. Common to these is that projects, problems, challenges etc. stem from "real life". Mathematics is an effective tool to solve problems, but in this paper, we discuss how we reconcile the fact that mathematics is both a pure and an applied discipline with…

Background: Developing self-directed learning (SDL) skills in engineering students is critical to support life-long learning. This research was conducted at Iron Range Engineering (IRE), an innovative, problem-based learning (PBL) engineering program, which has suffused the concept of metacognition throughout its curriculum. Purpose/Hypotheses:…

This case study presents a problem-based learning (PBL) model that guides general education history students to practice and acquire more advanced problem-solving skills -- those found in postformal thinking systems -- and to apply these thinking skills to develop and share solution alternatives both to periodized historical issues and to current…

Universal Design (UD) involves the creation of accessible, flexible products that are functional for a wide population of users. Our problem-based learning exercise challenges student teams to create products and services guided by the principles of UD. After teams generate their new product concept, a spokesperson from each team pitches it in…

The goal of this paper is to present several methods of visualizing student activity and collaboration in problem-based learning (PBL) in ways that can augment understanding of the complexity within PBL classrooms as well as to provide insights into the use of specific visual representations to address research questions in PBL. Grounded in…

Background/purpose: This study investigated the effectiveness of Problem-Based Worksheets (PBWs) in improving conceptual understanding of logic gates. PBWs were designed with key characteristics that integrate authentic problem-solving, active student engagement, and conceptual scaffolding to support critical thinking processes. A total of 32…

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine how students perceive groupwork and identify patterns of less successful groups in online challenge-based learning. Design/methodology/approach: This study involved 29 university students working in nine teams in an online challenge-based course. The authors applied Volet's (2001) Student Appraisal…

Background/purpose: This study aims to explore the research trends, influential contributors, and thematic developments in PBL within the context of school-level mathematics education over the period 2015-2024. Materials/methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 430 documents indexed in the Scopus database. The analysis employed…

Background/purpose: Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in higher education serves as a foundation for shaping students' spiritual insight, moral reasoning, and critical reflection. However, conventional instructional approaches often lack contextual relevance and fail to engage learners deeply. This study explores the transformative potential of…

Models that illustrate renal fluid dynamics are scarce within the secondary and postsecondary landscape. This work summarizes the efforts to build a rudimentary model renal corpuscle (MRC) that can be employed in a problem-based learning exercise or demonstration to teach basic principles of renal physiology to secondary students or…

Challenge: Health equity is rarely included in traditional biomedical engineering curricula, leaving students unprepared to design inclusive healthcare solutions. Novel Initiative: To address this critical gap, we developed "Health Equity in Engineering Design," the first course at our institution for undergraduate biomedical engineering…

Universities globally are called to educate collaborative and ethical engineers. In response, interdisciplinary problem-based learning is increasingly used to equip students with competencies needed to solve grand societal challenges. However, complex problem-solving in interdisciplinary teams can challenge students' existing beliefs and cause…

The aim of this study is to showcase the use of incorporating problem-solving in a multifaceted, long-term investigation. New York Harbor and its estuaries are undergoing a major revitalization due to the efforts of the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Environmental Restoration Project. Comprised of a network of local educational and…

Scaffolding is one of the critical features in a problem-based learning environment to address challenges associated with problem solving. While transfer of responsibility is considered as an ultimate goal in scaffolding that is adaptive and contingent, it is rarely studied and practiced. Thus, the purpose of this study was to inform a deeper…

This study highlights the importance of metacognitive awareness of economics students and examines the relationship between Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Metacognitive awareness among economics students. This research was conducted in the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Malang of Indonesia by employing economics students as the subject…