CH8
Learning in problemBased Learning
Environments
921201 Meeting
Outline
Story Problems
Laboratory Problems
Investigation Problems :
The astronomy village
 Exploring the nardoo
 Sailing on the MIMI

Conclusions
Story Problems
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.
There are numerous problem-based
learning environments that employ
different instructional approaches to
support learning how to solve story
problems.
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 problemsolving activity
Students respond, system will compare the correct
answer stored in the computer’s memory
- correct : reward
- incorrect : presentation of remedial instruction
Remediation strategies:
- fairly sophisticate(複雜)
- geared to the nature of the student’s error
- presents the problem again
Tutorials consist of sequences of these presentationresponse-feedback cycles followed by quizzes that
assess students’ abilities.
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
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 problemsolving process is conceptual modeling of task,
which is essential for understanding and the
ability to transfer that problem-solving ability
Laboratory Problems
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.
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
Investigation Problems :
the astronomy(天文學) village
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.
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
Investigation Problems :
Exploring the nardoo
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 Nardoo’s 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
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 teacher’s guide provides a number of
activities for both individual and collaborative
use
Investigation Problems :
Sailing on the MIMI
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
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 problemsolving games and simulations to enable them
to practice the skills and concepts
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.
Conclusions
These PBLEs are examples of a kind of
problem-based software that is becoming
more available to schools.