Teaching and learning practices need to be revisited to revitalize education. The mundane rote learning due to excessive standardization, pedagogical red tape and routinization often become surfeited and such experiences are discussed by students and teachers alike across the globe. The focus has to shift from content and transmission to problem,…

Since pre-internship medical students appeared inefficient in acquiring fundamental knowledge in large classes, a hybrid instructional method of problem-and-lecture-based learning (PLBL) was designed to leverage the complementary strengths of PBL in reasoning under minimal guidance and LBL in immediate knowledge retention. We improved PBL (IPBL)…

Project/problem-based learning (PBL) can provide an effective model for school reform when implemented with fidelity. In the report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," it was recommended that if the U.S. is to remain competitive in the 21st-century economy, there must be a serious effort to "enlarge the pipeline of students who are…

In light of the enormous changes unfolding in the higher education landscape, we don't have to look too far to recognize evidence of the transformation and redefinition of the construct of both teaching and learning in the information age. With a growing focus on teaching and learning at all levels of post-secondary institutions, innovation is…

In this study we described an action research project enacted by a veteran Kindergarten teacher (Sarah) in the context of a professional development program. Over the course of a year, Sarah collaborated with other teachers in a small group to investigate how to use "Science Talks" to promote student learning in Kindergarten classrooms. A…

As communities respond to challenges, threats and opportunities, organisations are changing in significant ways--new organisational designs, new communities of practice, new skills and new forms of human capital are sought. Yet K-12 school systems appear to be permanently failing organisations, not changing despite being shrouded by the rhetoric…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has gained credibility and some use in institutions of higher education. This paper provides a brief conceptual discussion of PBL and the idea of "problem," and describes one learning model that incorporates PBL as a method for moving students to high levels of learning. The second portion of the paper describes one…

Problem-based learning (PBL) offers students the opportunity to apply the appropriate knowledge to a well-defined problem, allowing students to apply academic problem-solving skills to their own real-life problems. This paper describes outcomes of a PBL program that was used as a tool for school improvement in three South Carolina schools--one…

Up to this point, university education has largely remained unaffected by the developments of novel approaches to web-based learning. The paper presents a principled approach to the design of problem-oriented, web-based learning at the university level. The principles include providing authentic contexts with multimedia, supporting collaborative…