A rock investigation set up as a problem-based learning mini-unit for the author's seventh grade integrated science students. To start this unit, she explains to students that NASA has sent us a container of rocks that they would like to have identified. It is up to the students to assume the role of geologists and come up with some way to…

This article explores assessment in the context of problem-based learning (PBL) at three different levels. Firstly, it examines the position of assessment in the current system of higher education and, secondly, it examines students' experiences of assessment in problem-based programmes. The article draws on research into PBL that explored staff…

In departure from the standard approach of using several problems to cover specific topics in a class, I use a single problem to cover the contents of the entire semester-equivalent biochemistry classes. I have developed a problem-based service-learning (PBSL) problem on HIV/AIDS to cover nucleic acid concepts that are typically taught in the…

The second preclinical year of the medical curriculum at the Medical Faculty of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland includes nine multidisciplinary organ-system-oriented modules consisting of lectures and problem-based-learning tutorials. This study reports the experience accumulated with the evaluation of lectures during the academic years…

We report on a two-year NSF-funded project to strengthen connections among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. One component of this project was to produce some initial data on the effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Lively Applications Projects (ILAPs) in teaching science and engineering undergraduates. ILAPs are…

The purpose of this study was to investigate college students' perceptions of learning and knowledge transfer in problem-based video instruction. To achieve this purpose, this study compared students' interview data of learning and knowledge transfer in problem-based video instruction (PBVI) that was produced for an undergraduate course of the…

The principles, difficulties and challenges in control education are discussed and compared to the similar problems in the teaching of mathematics and systems science in general. The difficulties of today's students to appreciate the classical teaching of engineering disciplines, which are based on rigorous and scientifically sound grounds, are…

This study investigated the impact of students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities on academic achievement and drop-out. Although constructivism represents an influential view of learning, studies investigating how students conceptualize this perspective have not been conducted before. A structural equation modelling approach was…

This study aims to examine the design of approaches for inquiry learning with multimedia resources in primary classrooms. The study describes the development of a multimedia learning unit that helps learners understand the natural phenomenon of the movement of the Earth. An analysis of the use of the multimedia learning unit by a teacher in two…

Problem solving, interpersonal skills, information literacy, and critical and independent thinking are essential qualities that employers seek, yet many undergraduates lack. We structured an interdisciplinary classroom and experiential learning environment where students from three undergraduate courses (Hospitality and Tourism Management,…

This case study involved year 9 students carrying out project work in biology via problem-based learning. The purpose of the study was to (a) find out how students approach and work through ill-structured problems, (b) identify some issues and challenges related to the use of such problems, and (c) offer some practical suggestions on the…

We now have pedagogical methods that can be successful--that is, effective--with most students at the undergraduate stage; one very promising method is problem-based or inquiry-based learning. (Contains 4 notes.)

The study aimed to determine if students in a redesigned course, firstly, hold different perceptions of the assessment demands and, secondly, adjusted their learning strategies towards deeper learning. Contrary to expectations, the students in the original assignment-based (ABL) course (n = 406 students) adopted more deep- learning strategies and…

This article features the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS) program that helps students gain knowledge about real-life business issues. Ford PAS is an educational program that combines college-prep academics with the critical 21st century skills students will need to succeed in college and in the workplace. The Ford PAS program uses…

The affordances of online learning technologies have enabled more widespread development of learning environments that facilitate the exploration and solving of complex and realistic problems. In this paper, we describe the design of a real world geography problem, embedded within a web environment that is facilitated by an onsite excursion for…