The goal of this article is to propose a framework for understanding the nature of "how people construct problems" by interacting with situations and subsequently to offer implications for instructional design and future research. We propose that people must interactively frame the components of a situation in order to establish the…

The fast-paced advances in technology and scientific knowledge in the 21st century call for learners to possess professional skills that complement their technical skills to make meaningful contributions in communities. This article introduces a cross-disciplinary leadership training program, Graduate Scholars Leadership, Engagement, and…

Employing authentic cases experienced by practitioners in educational contexts is critical to expanding students' experience and engaging students in authentic problems to promote their real-world problem-solving skills. Although in real life, practitioners experience both success and failure and learn from both, little research has been done so…

Failure is an inevitable human experience, which can offer great learning opportunities. Yet, in current educational contexts, failure has largely been eschewed to minimize students' frustration and confusion. Such a failure-avoidance approach is also reflected in the cases used for instruction. To maximize learning, more studies are needed to…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between students' patterns of reflective thinking and their performance in solving design problems. Reflective thinking is a critical element in the process of solving ill-defined design problems. Many educators are dedicated to finding ways to promote students' reflection. Yet few…

One of the important goals of problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education is to enhance medical students' clinical reasoning--hypothetico-deductive reasoning (HDR) in particular--through small group discussions. However, few studies have focused on explicit strategies for promoting students' HDR during group discussions in PBL. This paper…

To date, many instructional systems are designed to support learners as they progress through a problem-solving task. Often these systems are designed in accordance with instructional design models that progress the learner efficiently through the problem-solving process. However, theories from various fields have discussed failure as a strategic…

Reflection is a critical factor in solving design problems. Using good methods to observe designers' reflection is essential to inform the design of the learning environments that support the development of design problem-solving skills. In this study, we have developed and validated a novel self-reporting questionnaire as an efficient instrument…

Design tasks are omnipresent in our everyday lives. Previous research shows that reflective thinking is one of the critical factors in solving design problems. Related research has attempted to capture designers' reflective thinking process. Yet a close inspection of designers' reflective thinking taking place during their design process demands…

No one would disagree that one of the major goals of higher education is to help college students develop as professionals who are able to deal with real-world problems in complex and dynamic situations, and who can make reasoned and reflective decisions with ethical and moral responsibility. In spite of the importance of promoting students'…

This design-based research study is aimed at two goals: (1) developing a feasible case-based instructional model that could enhance college students' ill-structured problem solving abilities, while (2) implementing the model to improve teacher education students' real-world problem solving abilities to deal with dilemmas faced by practicing…

In this article, we report a research project on web-based case instruction that was developed and implemented to allow prospective early childhood teachers to be exposed to various dilemmas faced by practicing teachers. The goal of this project was to design an instructional tool and method that could help prospective teachers expand their notion…

This study explores how students' learning styles influence their learning while solving complex problems when a case-based e-learning environment is implemented in a conventional lecture-oriented classroom. Seventy students from an anaesthesiology class at a dental school participated in this study over a 3-week period. Five learning-outcome…