This article analyzes the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in music teacher education. A qualitative action-research took place at the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia (IF), in Northeast Brazil, including Music Education students and selected staff. The pedagogical intervention was carried out by in-class…

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…

The current emphasis in K-12 education on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Douglas, Iversen, & Kalyandurg, 2004; Sanders, 2009) creates many ways to partner engineering education with these fields. Therefore, it is appropriate to examine the commonalities these fields have with engineering education. Though much of the…

I explore a belief about learning and teaching that is commonly held in education and society at large that nonetheless is deeply flawed. The belief asserts that mastery of "formalisms"--specialized representations such as symbolic equations and diagrams with no inherent meaning except that which is established by convention--is prerequisite to…

This article examines the viability of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in the training of teachers for the public schools. The shortcomings of traditional training and induction methods in preparing professional educators for the demands of the 21st Century schools is considered and the applicability of PBL in addressing these shortcomings is…

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…

The tradition of the active mind views knowledge as provisionally constructed by the mind in perpetual interaction with the world. There are no substitutes for students' and teachers' consistent application of intelligence and steady thinking. A problem-based-learning approach to teacher education exemplifies John Dewey's laboratory model.…

A successful problem-centered program must focus on problem-solving and planning strategies more systematically and intensively than is typical in most classrooms. Teachers can approach problem solving by posing open-ended questions, teaching the steps of thinking, incorporating problem solving into the curriculum, connecting lessons to children's…

This meta-analysis reviews experimental and quasi-experimental studies in which students learned by constructing, modifying, or viewing node-link diagrams. Following an exhaustive search for studies meeting specified design criteria, 67 standardized mean difference effect sizes were extracted from 55 studies involving 5,818 participants. Students…

Constructivism, which holds that knowledge is created out of each individual's own experience, is recapturing researchers' attention. To constructivists, teachers are not omniscient oracles, but nutritionists providing an environment for children to grow their own knowledge. Students might learn division by planning a field trip instead of…

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…

Presents scenario for the future of school leadership and discusses role of problem-based leadership development. This scenario fosters several assumptions concerning capacities needed by future school leaders: ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment; attitudes and skills in lifelong learning; more varied leadership roles; and increased…

Introduces major assumptions and theory surrounding problem-based learning (PBL) used in Stanford University's educational leadership program. Reviews instructional delivery, explains students' role in knowledge production, and illustrates the program's relationship to practitioners and the field. Use of PBL materials inspired significantly higher…

This article describes how Problem-Based Learning (PBL) was used to help prospective teachers (1) define various disabilities; (2) learn teaching strategies for inclusion settings; and (3) value collaboration with other professionals. Quantitative and qualitative data on the PBL experience of 44 preservice teachers support the use of PBL in the…

Three principles based on research in cognitive psychology explain the potential power of problem-based learning: (1) learning is a constructive, not a receptive process; (2) metacognition affects learning; and (3) social and contextual factors influence learning. These principles are more likely to be activated when specific teacher behaviors and…