Introduction to Problem Writing Please sit at the table whose topic interests you .

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Introduction to Problem WritingPlease sit at
the table whose topic interests you .
Institute for TransformingUndergraduate Education
University of Delaware
January 13, 2003
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Good PBL Problems

• relate to real world, motivate students
• require decision-making or judgments
• are multi-page, multi-stage
• are designed for group-solving
• pose open-ended initial questions that encourage
  discussion
• incorporate course content objectives, higher
  order thinking

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Blooms Cognitive Levels

• Evaluation - make a judgment based on criteria
• Synthesis - produce something new from component
  parts
• Analysis - break material into parts to see
  interrelationships
• Application - apply concept to a new situation
• Comprehension - explain, interpret
• Knowledge - remember facts, concepts, definitions

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What Factors Influence Decisions About Problems

• Who is the problem writer?
• - discipline
• - control issues
• - level of investment
• What is the course?
• - students (number and level)
• - sequencing of course/problems
• - time/structure of class

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Sources and Strategies for Writing Problems

• Newspaper articles, news events
• Popular press in the discipline
• Make up a story based on content objectives
• Adapt a case to a problem
• Research papers
• Other?

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Using Newspaper Articles and News Events

• Each table will be given one of the following
  news events to develop into a problem.
• 1. Cloning
• 2. No Child Left Behind Act and School Choice
• 3. Terrorist-related Issue
• 4. Global Warming
• 5. Business and University Funding
• 6. Politics of Judge Nomination Approval
• 7. Gravity Mapping
• 8. The Internet and Intellectual Property
  Issues
• 9. Other topic of your choice

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Step One

• Identify the course
• You can think of the subject, level of students,
  size of class, how you would use it.
• List the learning objectives that would be met by
  this problem (related to your chosen news
  article.)

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Step Two

• Think of a scenario, based on the news article.
• Sketch out the first page.
• Need more information? Consult our lending
  library.

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Step Three

• What comes next?
• Write a brief synopsis of the problem,
  emphasizing the possible staging of the problem.
• Be prepared to report out.

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Feedback To Presenters

• What did you like most about the problem?
• Does it challenge students to think and do
  research?
• Is the problem appropriate for the proposed
  course?

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Step Four

• How would you assess to see if students met your
  original learning objectives?