CH8 Learning in problem-Based Learning Environments

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CH8Learning in problem-Based Learning
Environments

• 921201 Meeting

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Outline

• Story Problems
• Laboratory Problems
• Investigation Problems
• The astronomy village
• Exploring the nardoo
• Sailing on the MIMI
• Conclusions

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Story Problems
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• May not be the most interesting kind of problem
  solving, they are the most prominent.
• In math and science course from 1st grade through
  graduate school
• These problems embed algorithmic problems in some
  shallow story context
• Typically found at the back of textbook chapters
• Students are required to disembed the information
  from the story, select the relevant values, and
  insert them into some formula.
• Research shows that students are not very
  successful in transfer their abilities to solve
  problems to other problems.

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• There are numerous problem-based learning
  environments that employ different instructional
  approaches to support learning how to solve story
  problems.

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Tutorial is the most common type.

• Typically present information in text or graphics
  on how to solve problems
• Ask the learners to perform part or all of the
  problem-solving activity
• Students respond, system will compare the correct
  answer stored in the computers memory
• - correct reward
• - incorrect presentation of remedial
  instruction
• Remediation strategies
• - fairly sophisticate(??)
• - geared to the nature of the students error
• - presents the problem again
• Tutorials consist of sequences of these
  presentation-response-feedback cycles followed by
  quizzes that assess students abilities.

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Tips (Tutorials in Problem Solving) is another
problem-based learning environment

• Provides students with a set of diagrammatic
  tools that represent these different problem
  structures
• Requires students to utilize the tools to
  diagrammatically analyze story problems
• Contains a tutor that assesses students
  responses and provides feedback
• The curriculum consists of a series of lessons
  that use worked example
• - Worked examples illustrate how an
  expert solves the problem for learner to study
  and emulate

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Problem-Solving Process

• Story problems are well-structured problems that
  are neither the most interesting nor complicated
• Most story problems have an accepted solution and
  method, so the primary process is deciding witch
  method to use
• There is little need to search for information,
  all necessary information is normally provided
• TiPS environment adds to the story
  problem-solving process is conceptual modeling of
  task, which is essential for understanding and
  the ability to transfer that problem-solving
  ability

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Laboratory Problems
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• In sciences, this is a prevalent activity
• Laboratory activities normally require following
  a set of procedures
• - observing the results
• - taking measures of the processes
• - inferring what happened
• Because of inherent dangers, many teachers are
  choosing to use these virtual experiments.
• - Except the smells.

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Problem-Solving Processes

• Slightly more ill-structured and complex problems
  than story problems
• Experimenter can try new procedures
• Require decision making
• The environment itself allows the learners to
  construct simulated physical models of the
  experimental process

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Investigation Problems the astronomy(???)
village
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• Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space
  Administration (NASA), the astronomy village (AV)
  provides rich multimedia resources and
  exploration tools in a virtual observatory
  community.
• To support exploration and scientific inquiry,
  data and image analysis, and learning of
  important concepts and methods of astronomy.
• AV requires student to select an investigation,
  develop a plan, and carry it out.
• - Students develop a plan using the
  Research Path Diagram,
• which provides a path to guide them
  through their investigation
• - include background research that is
  needed, data collection,
• data analysis, data interpretation, and
  presentation.

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Problem-Solving Processes

• in the background research, students collected
  relevant information by reading articles in AV
  library
• Data Collection phase, the students observe
  images in the AV observatory
• Data Analysis and Data Interpretation
• Finally, each student team presented its
  procedures and results to the class
• These activity consisted of information
  searching, a lot of decision making, and some
  designing

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Investigation Problems Exploring the nardoo
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• Nardoo is an imaginary river in Australia that
  provides a rich context for ecological
  investigations to support biology, geography,
  social science, and language and media studies.
• The Nardoos more general purpose is to engage
  skills in problem solving, measuring, collating,
  and communicating
• It is an active learning environment in which
  students participate in teams, investigate
  issues, and communicate their result
• Students may access a rich variety of information
  sources about the investigation, including the
  water pollution the river television reports,
  radio reports, and newspaper articles
• To identify the sources of pollution along the
  river, as well as to predict the effects of those
  pollutants on the river animals and plants

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• Students use their PDA that provides access to
  information, navigation, and exploration tools,
  permitting students to take measurements,
  manipulate data and text, research multimedia
  information, and plan activities
• The Nardoo program provides
• - a number of simulators, in order to learn
  about water usage that
• family usage per day.
• - A problem-solving environment that enable
  students to actively
• manipulate a complex environment, seek
  information, and
• conduct investigation of ecological
  issues
• The teachers guide provides a number of
  activities for both individual and collaborative
  use

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Investigation Problems Sailing on the MIMI
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• One of the best known and most revered of
  educational program
• The Voyages of the Mimi (Voyage and Second Voyage
  of the Mimi), combines video, software, and print
  materials, along with a real sailboat, into an
  interdisciplinary science and math curriculum for
  middle grades (4-8).
• Like anchored instruction, students conduct
  open-ended and interdisciplinary investigations
  and scientific explorations
• In the first series , a video tells a series of
  adventure stories about a scientific expedition
  to study whales on the Mimi

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• The second series of stories tells of
  archaeologists in search of a lost Mayan city
• Each adventure is supplemented with a wealth of
  print materials (lesson plans, activities, and
  project) that help to integrate the video
  programs into science, math, social studies,
  language arts, music, and art classrooms.
• The software provides students with
  problem-solving games and simulations to enable
  them to practice the skills and concepts

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Problem-Solving Processes

• The Nardoo River and the Voyages of the Mimi are
  both great environments that engage and support
  problem solving in students
• Students get to make decisions, solving design
  complex problems
• Designing investigations requires a great deal of
  information searching within and outside these
  environments
• Significant decision making in order to determine
  appropriate methods
• PBLEs represent one of the most complete and
  compelling kind of activities that students can
  engage in - simulations.

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Conclusions
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• These PBLEs are examples of a kind of
  problem-based software that is becoming more
  available to schools.