A few medical schools have introduced a significant innovation--the problem-based curriculum. Students meet in small tutorials and consider biomedical problems that they cannot solve without acquiring new information and skills. This experiment at Harvard gives "respectability" to the curriculum. (MLW)

Presents: (1) a list of ideas for teaching problem-solving; (2) a review of a problem-solving book used in medical education; and (3) a discussion of an approach called problem-based learning. (DH)

This book illustrates how problem-based learning (PBL) can enliven curriculum and lesson planning by encouraging students to play a more central role in their own learning process. It provides a framework for efficiently and effectively teaching problem-solving skills, tapping children's interests and previous knowledge, and making the curriculum…

This guide contains 12 practical tools to help educators link instruction in Creative Problem Solving (CPS) with today's focus on authentic assessment. It offers a variety of practical, reproducible instruments and checklists for use in evaluating students' knowledge of CPS concepts and tools, assessing students' attitudes about CPS and their…

Mathematics is not only about learning problem-solving methods; it is also about gaining a deeper understanding of their purpose, advantages and disadvantages. Frequently, the same problem can be solved by applying several different methods. Mathematics education should also include clues to those best fitting to the person's aim. To achieve that…

Education has traditionally studied the world by bringing it into the classroom. This method can result in situated learning that appears to students to have no relevance outside the classroom. Students acquire inert, decontextualized knowledge that they cannot apply to real problems. The obvious solution to this shortcoming is to reverse the…

A study examined a method of instruction using video-based problems to help four incarcerated adults with emotional and learning disabilities improve their procedural and problem solving skills. A theoretical model for teaching mathematics guided instruction. Results showed that individuals learned to compute fractions and solve a multi-step,…

Two approaches for teaching a student how to define a problem, acquire pertinent data, generate possible solutions, and optimize them for the patient are described: guided design, originating in engineering education; and problem-based learning, which has roots in medical education. (Author/MLW)

Describes a research project in a third-grade classroom that explored a spontaneous, bottom-up approach to developing and testing performance measures. After establishing project goals for reading and math instruction, the 14 participating teachers worked with University of Colorado researchers to develop summarizing activities, open-ended math…

This study found that participants (n=78) in Science, Society and the Future, a problem-based course for gifted high school students, exhibited significant improvement in problem-solving schemes compared to a group of 42 gifted nonparticipants. The pattern of change was not consistent across problem-solving steps. (JDD)

A study compared results of 2 teaching methods, traditional Socratic method (22 students) and a problem-based curriculum (35 students) in a University of Kentucky medical school surgery clerkship. Results showed the problem-based method resulted in similar knowledge level but improved clinical problem-solving skills. (Author/MSE)

A University of Limburg (Netherlands) medical school study investigated the relationship between student-generated learning issues and faculty instructional objectives (i.e., the effectiveness of the problems posed) in a problem-centered obstetrics and child development curriculum. Subjects were 120 students and 12 faculty. Results indicated…

A study investigated the effectiveness of incorporating discussion groups and problem solving in a first-year pharmaceutical dosage-forms course. Students responded positively to the group discussions focusing on problem solving and the discussion summaries, which demonstrated the diversity of approaches to problem solving and focused their…

Discussion of ICAE (Intelligent Computer Aided Education) systems focuses on Magix, a prototype ICAE system for use in problem-based learning in linear mathematics for 10- to 12-year olds. The system integrates the principles of constructivism, user-driven interaction, knowledge-based systems, and metacognition. (Author/LRW)

Outlines a plan of action designed to enhance growth in problem-posing skills. The "blueprint" provides a model for teachers and teacher educators who wish to integrate more problem posing into their curriculum. Specific activities and instructional strategies are cited to illustrate the development of problem posing as a process in the classroom.…