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…

Decision making is the most common kind of problem solving. It is also an important component skill in other more ill-structured and complex kinds of problem solving, including policy problems and design problems. There are different kinds of decisions, including choices, acceptances, evaluations, and constructions. After describing the centrality…

The purpose of this paper is to familiarize instructional designers and researchers with a useful design and research paradigm known as "Ask Systems." Ask Systems are interrogative interfaces to information and learning environments that model conversations with a skilled, reflective practitioner (Schon, The reflective practitioner, "1983") or…

In this study, the effects of reflective self-explanations on conceptual understanding and problem solving are investigated in a domain of computer programming. After completing a multiple-choice test, 33 students were asked to reflect on and explain why their answers were correct or incorrect. Groups were divided for post hoc analysis based on…

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…

Meaningful learning requires deep engagement with ideas. Deep engagement is supported by the critical thinking skill of argumentation. Learning to argue represents an important way of thinking that facilitates conceptual change and is essential for problem solving. In order to appropriately apply argumentation practices to learning, we first…

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…

Proposes a metatheory of problem solving. Describes differences among problems in terms of their structured ness, domain specificity (abstractness), and complexity; describes individual differences that affect problem solving; and presents a typology of problems, each of which engages different cognitive, affective, and conative process and…

Considers well-structured problems versus ill-structured problems and presents models for how learners solve them, as well as models for designing instruction to support problem-solving skill development. Information processing theories of learning, an emerging theory of ill-structured problem solving, constructivist learning, and situated…

Description of expert system development focuses on identifying the problem, or knowledge, domain, and discusses three methods for defining the domain: (1) brainstorming, (2) concept analysis, and (3) information processing analysis, which describes cognitive processes. The techniques are illustrated by a description of an auto manfacturer's sales…

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 need for innovation in online learning and suggests that online learning in universities and corporate training should focus on problem solving. Recommends the implementation of problem and domain-specific problem architectures in online delivery packages and describes two possible examples of such architectures. (LRW)

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)

Discussion of computer-mediated group problem solving focuses on a study of undergraduates that compared the perceptions of participants, the nature of the comments made, and the patterns of communication in face-to-face and computer conferencing groups in terms of problem-solving activities while solving well-structured and ill-structured…

Compares the problem-solving skills required for solving well-structured problems and ill-structured problems in the context of an open-ended, multimedia problem solving environment in astronomy. Assesses students' abilities in solving these problems with two sets of open-ended questions. Concludes that solving well-structured and ill-structured…