Students coping with the escalating complexities of available electronic resources often demonstrate undesirable behaviors including the inability to identify information needs, uncertainty about selecting information resources, poor evaluation of information sources, and inappropriate use of information for problem solving. To eliminate these…

Much of traditional schooling in America is built around systems of compliance and control, characteristics which stifle the creative and entrepreneurial instincts of the children who are subjected to these tactics. This article explores a different approach to education, one that involves capturing the interest of the student through the use of…

Designing and implementing pedagogies that support collaborative groupwork experiences and which also incorporate the use of information and communications technology is a commonplace, yet complex, task. This article describes a case study that uncovered problems with such an approach that employed interdisciplinary group projects in an…

This paper presents an action-research case study that focuses on experiences of collaboration in a problem-based learning (PBL) course in Zoology. Our PBL model was developed as a research activity in partnership with a commercial organisation. Consequently, learning was grounded in genuine situations of practice in which a high degree of…

We have designed model-development sequences using a common context to provide authentic problem-solving experiences for first-year students. The model-development sequence takes a model-eliciting activity a step further by engaging students in the exploration and adaptation of a mathematical model (e.g., procedure, algorithm, method) for solving…

Through this article, an attempt is made to highlight some ways on how teachers can integrate technology into their teaching repertoire to enhance the teaching learning process to make it both an enjoyable and enriching experience. Technology has several advantages: it is being used as a powerful tool by many teachers for making lesson plans and…

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the traditional education paradigm that has prepared students for the old health care environment. In a changing health care environment, problem based learning (PBL) is achieving popularity primarily because educational outcomes parallel the skills and abilities desired of future clinicians and…

Professions are changing rapidly and at an increasing rate, confronting professionals with an unprecedented requirement for adaptability and anticipation. The accelerated growth of knowledge relevant to professions and its relationship to curricula for preparing professionals has been referred to as the "cult of coverage." School culture…

In problem-based learning, an instrument is needed to measure students' actual learning activities. Mapping the domain of learning activities undertaken by students and improving problems is especially important in a problem-based curriculum because students choose their own learning objectives. Such an instrument, the Topic Evaluation…

It is a common public perception that schools are failing to perform their fundamental mission; in the public eye, the responsibility for this failure lies with the administrators leading the schools. Consequently, there has been a litany of criticisms of the programs that prepare administrators, particularly programs located in major research…

The ways in which a rating scale developed for problem-based medical curricula provides information that is useful in the area of curriculum reform were demonstrated in a study involving 95 first-year medical students at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec (Canada). The rating scale, based on the theory of problem-based learning of W. H.…

The design and evaluation of a rating scale for program evaluation in problem-based medical curricula are described. The design process was guided by a theory of how students learn in problem-based learning as modeled by W. H. Gijselaers and H. G. Schmidt (1988). The rating scale was used in an evaluation of a new problem-based, community-oriented…

The eight issues for volume 6 of the "CEC Today," a newsletter exclusively for members of the Council for Exceptional Children, include the following featured articles: (1) "How To Set up a Classroom on a Tight Budget"; (2) "Survival Tips for First-Year Teachers"; (3) Get the Training You Need To Stay Ahead of the…

This collection of papers presents a variety of field-tested examples that use problem-based learning (PBL) for teacher education in many professional development settings. It describes PBL activities for preservice, novice, and experienced educators at all levels. The eight chapters describe teacher educators' experiences using PBL in their…

Problem-based learning in educational administration preparation programs is increasingly the focus of university departments, professors, presenters at symposia, and the literature in the field. This increasing attention, while appropriate, creates the need for additional reflection before organizations move ahead with problem-based learning…