Engaging middle-school students in scientific inquiry is typically recognized as important, but difficult. Designed to foster learner engagement, this method used an online, problem-based, science inquiry that investigated the West Nile virus during four weeks of collaborative classroom sessions. The inquiry prototype was authored in WISE, the…

When students are engaged in learning environments that allow for the practice of problem-solving skills, they are able to connect the classroom to the real world. Students with disabilities need to develop the skills of problem solving, and they need to know how to identify a problem, find the answer, and evaluate their choice. This article…

A Multi-Scaffolding Environment (MSE) is a multimedia environment reliant on authentic scaffolding. We examine the impact of the availability of multiple scaffolds on learning and cognitive load within an MSE where learners are assigned a real-world task and given access to four support tools to help them complete the task. By examining an MSE in…

Students' use of distributed Problem-Based Learning (dPBL) in university courses in social economy was studied. A sociocultural framework was used to analyze the actions of students focusing on their mastery of dPBL. The main data material consisted of messages written in an asynchronous conferencing system by 50 Swedish college students in 2…

Within a context of ambivalence and limited resources, school administrators are challenged to create conditions that enable gifted students to thrive. This article discusses how to create learning environments that stimulate talent development; illustrates how the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy created an environment that fosters deep…

A summer school for elementary students used activities in design technology ("children's engineering"), a problem-based approach that encourages students to use a variety of equipment in creating, testing, and solving real-life problems. Design briefs used an array of skills from other content areas of the curriculum. (SK)

Explores ways to help students take learning seriously and ask critical questions about their studies. Describes strategies for students to raise important questions, to distinguish between one-system and competing-systems disciplines, and how to ask questions about a field of study and textbooks. (MZ)

Study compared students' achievement gains and attitudes using traditional (lecture-based) teaching methods and problem-based learning (PBL) techniques in an addiction studies class. Results showed students did not respond well to PBL and preferred a lecture-based format. Pretest mean scores indicated the PBL group entered the course at a higher…

Hong Kong nursing students used journals to problem-based learning (PBL) related to dying patients. Increased self-awareness, positive attitude toward death, and culturally sensitive care resulted. PBL methods included information searches, interviews with experts and patients, and tutorials for sharing feelings and information. (Contains 21…

Describes the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) into specific courses of the Samford University nursing education program. Discusses its usefulness and indicates that PBL has had a positive effect on students and has exceeded expected outcomes. (Contains 25 references.) (JOW)

Describes a problem-based learning strategy which helps train principals for an increasingly demanding job. Conceptualizes problem-based learning; provides a rationale for this strategy; and uses a real example from a course in problem-based learning taught at the University of Georgia. (RS)

Describes preparation for instruction using a problem-based approach as part of a teaching-strategy repertoire. Describes classes that use the approach successfully, and identifies pitfalls. Suggests ways that mathematics teachers can get assistance in successfully implementing a problem-based teaching approach. Presents research results that…

Problem-based learning has significant limits that warrant concern about its use in nursing education: it moves away from emancipatory goals of education, it implicitly supports the medical model, and it lacks the diversity required of a postmodern curriculum supporting different learning styles. (SK)

Presents a case study to teach about the relationship between sinkhole development and groundwater levels in Orlando, Florida. Discusses the relationship between groundwater levels and sinkhole formation in a karst terrane. Includes discussion questions. (YDS)

Describes how the use of problem-based learning as an instructional methodology in undergraduate nursing curricula has been identified as one way to facilitate development of nursing students' abilities to become self-directed in learning. Discusses the theoretical links between problem-based learning and self-directed learning. (EV)