This book, prepared in the context of the "UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)", also known as "Rio+20", contains the papers submitted to the "World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U-2012)", which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 5 and 6 June 2012. It pursues the following main aims: to document and…

Students benefit from collaborative learning activities, but they do not automatically reach desired learning outcomes when working together (Fischer, Kollar, Mandl, & Haake, 2007; King, 2007). Learners need instructional support to increase the quality of collaborative processes and individual learning outcomes. The core challenge is to find…

This study investigates how teacher education students responded to a particular suite of educational products that involved media based educational learning objects, and their attitudes to them in fostering student centred learning in general, and problem based learning in particular, with the ultimate goal of enhancing and improving the quality…

Provides an analytic case description of an innovative, problem-based principals preparation program at Stanford University, incorporating views of students, graduates, and faculty. Promising aspects of the program are highlighted. Appendices include annotated lists of core courses and problem-based learning projects. (Contains 36 references.)…

This article describes a series of data-based Green Map learning exercises positioned within a problem-based framework and examines the appropriateness of projects like these as a form of geography education. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational technique that engages students in learning through activities that require creative problem…

Project-based learning is not a new idea. It has a solid track record of increasing student motivation and improving students' problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills (Stites, 1998; Thomas, 2000). In the traditional model, students work in teams to investigate open-ended questions and apply their knowledge through culminating products or…

Problem Based Learning offers many benefits to students' learning, however, the design and implementation of effective problem based learning (PBL) is not trivial. Central to effective implementation of PBL are the problem design and group working of the students. Design of good problems requires that the learning outcomes of the subject are…

There is a growing use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes. However, much of this activity is not yet documented in the public domain, or is descriptive rather than analytical. This paper presents a case study in which university students were tasked with building an interactive learning experience using Second Life as a…

This case study examined how mentoring experiences might encourage teachers to consider and adopt a problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) framework for teaching. We mentored six teachers over 15 months as they planned and implemented PBHI teaching, reflected on their experiences, and then engaged in peer mentoring of other teachers. Data…

This case study examines the application of problem-based learning to the teaching of introductory instructional design (ISD). Suggests that ISD is a dynamic process of problem understanding and problem solution and that ISD instruction should therefore focus more on the problem attributes and not on the generality of the systems approach model.…

The study investigated tool development by three middle school mathematics teachers. The tools they designed were intended to support the use of model-eliciting activities (a form of instruction related to problem-based learning) and particularly the students' presentations of their solutions for the whole class. The study examined the design and…

Relations between higher education institutions and local companies are generally considered to be very important to the success of education provision and for the social fabric surrounding the school. This article describes a case study of bringing together two parties with an interest in the school's action: students and companies. Group work as…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a powerful instructional approach. By working through assessable complex problem-solving tasks learners can be encouraged to actively engage in investigation and inquiry and to use high level cognitive thought processes to solve real-life problems in professional contexts. A critical element of a successful PBL…

It would be difficult to argue that the use of online technology to support teaching and learning has not undergone significant change in the last two decades. Recently, with the promotion of social software technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual classrooms, we have seen the emergence of the idea of e-learning 2.0. That is, the…

This article presents the results of two studies on using an innovative pedagogical strategy in teaching mathematical modelling and applications to engineering students. Both studies are dealing with introducing non-traditional contexts for engineering students in teaching/learning of mathematical modelling and applications: environment and…