This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.

0 License

14. Problem-based
instruction
Author: Evan Glazer (The University of Georgia, USA)
Editor's Note: Dr. Glazer chose to use the term Problem-based Instruction, but my reading and other references
to this chapter also use the term Problem-based Learning. The reader can assume the terms are equivalent.

Scenario
If you would like to read this story in a ComicLife format, you can click here on Samstonian in ComicLife
Samstonian is a small suburban town about thirty minutes south of a large metropolitan area. Most of the
residents work for Nikron, a packaging factory on the outskirts of town. Local social, cultural, and fund-raising
events are often partially sponsored by Nikron making the company an ingrained and influential component of the
community. In essence, Nikron and the townspeople have a symbiotic relationship; without the factory, Samstonian
would suffer unemployment, and without the people, the factory would have a manpower shortage.
The town's daily newspaper, the Samstonian Chronicle, recently published a disturbing front-page photograph
of the Samstonian River located about 1.3 kilometers from the Nikron factory. Beneath the headline, "What's
Wrong with the Water?" at least twenty dead fish were shown floating near the riverbank. The article stated that the
reasons for this incident were unknown, but that there was cause for great concern because the river was the main
source of the town's water supply.
Some suspicion arose among the residents of Samstonian about the possibility that the factory was dumping
pollutants in the Samstonian River. In response to this media attention and public scrutiny, Nikron issued a public
statement declaring its deep concern about the matter but rejecting any blame for the recent fish kills. Because of
the company's desire to maintain strong relations with the community, Nikron welcomed the town's help in further
investigating the incident. In an effort to build credibility in its statement, Nikron opened its facility to all
concerned citizens for public inspection.
Mr Fred Samples, a chemistry teacher at Samstonian High School, took advantage of this opportunity by
inviting his class to address the problem: Is the town's water supply being contaminated by pollutants from the
factory? Mr Samples knew this question was significant and expected his class to spend several weeks addressing
the problem. He first asked his class to formulate research questions to analyze this problem. The students
determined that they should investigate the following questions:
• Why are fish dying in the Samstonian River?
• What is the history of the level of toxins discharged by the factory?
• What types and quantities of toxins are present in the Samstonian River?
• What types and quantities of toxins are present in the local water filtration system?
The class was divided into four teams with each addressing a single question. The school media specialist, Mr
Harrington, was brought into the class to discuss the resources available to the students for their research. Mr

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14. Problem-based instruction

Samples asked each group to devise a proposal for a final product that would represent its research efforts. The
groups could compose a news story, write a research report for Nikron or to the Environmental Protection Agency,
create a documentary, develop a legal brief for a court case, or other projects that the groups could develop. In their
proposals, the groups were to provide a detailed description of the project and an itemized breakdown of the
manner in which their projects would be assessed. Following submission, the proposals were reviewed and
negotiated with the teacher. The media specialist also reviewed each of the proposals and provided
recommendations for sources and strategies to gain access to relevant information.
The groups used the feedback from their teacher and the media specialist to devise a set of methods and
strategies to answer their questions. As the students developed their ideas, they realized that they would need to
obtain water samples from the water filtration plant, various locations in the river, and from the town's tap water;
air samples from the factory; autopsy results from samples of dead fish from the river; and toxin analysis records
from the county's environmental health office. In response, Mr Samples arranged field trips to the Nikron factory,
the Samstonian River, and the county environmental health office. Mr Harrington helped to locate potentially
useful databases from these sources. He also spoke to each of the groups about strategies for finding information
while in the field collecting data.
The students collected data and worked in their teams to address the focus question. The group investigating the
death of the fish decided to make further contacts, such as meeting with the newspaper reporter who broke the
story, and interviewing townspeople who regularly fished in the river. Before dissecting some of the fish, the groups
consulted the library, the Internet, and their biology teacher to learn more about the typical life cycle and common
diseases in this species of fish. Using this information, along with information about toxins obtained from the other
groups, the group determined the cause of death in the fish they dissected. They looked for more dead fish and a
relationship between the cause of death in the previous fish samples. In addition, they caught live fish of the same
species and tested them for traces of toxins.
The quality of students' findings depended on synthesizing their information with the results of the other
groups. They compared their lab results with those of the other groups for relationships between the toxins in the
fish or water, with the pollutants emitted from the factory. This analysis helped the group to make some initial
conjectures about the cause of fish deaths in the Samstonian River. They then returned to their data to test their
hypothesis and developed a project to represent these findings.
Simultaneously, the other three groups were conducting similar searches for information, contacts with experts,
lab tests, conjectures, and analyses to support their findings. Throughout the process, Mr Samples helped to extend
students' thinking by asking questions about their strategies and arguments. Although he had a background in
chemistry and toxicology, Mr Samples was not an expert in all areas of the students' inquiry. Instead, he helped the
students find sources and reflect in ways that would expand their thinking and address the overall question of
study.
After the groups presented their findings about their subquestions, Mr Samples revisited the original question
with the entire class: Is the town's water supply being contaminated by pollutants from the factory?
The students' responsibility was then to synthesize all of the findings and produce an argument affirming or
refuting this question. Mr Samples chose to engage the students in a mock trial, The People of Samstonian vs
Nikron Corporation, in which the class would present both sides of the case; in addition, a jury would determine the

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outcome. The jury was not only to analyze the evidence and arguments presented in the trial; it was to examine the
moral, ethical, social, and economic implications of the case.

Description
For a description of the differences between Project-based Learning and Problem-based Learning, click here .
Problem-based inquiry is an effort to challenge students to address real-world problems and resolve realistic
dilemmas. Such problems create opportunities for meaningful activities that engage students in problem solving
and higher-ordered thinking in authentic settings. Many textbooks attempt to promote these skills through
contrived settings without relevance to students' lives or interests. A notorious algebra problem concerns the time
at which two railway trains will pass each other:
Two trains leave different stations headed toward each other. Station A is 500 miles west of Station B. Train A
leaves station A at 12:00 pm traveling toward Station B at a rate of 60 miles per hour. Train B leaves Station B at
2:30 pm for Station A at a rate of 45 miles per hour. At what time will the trains meet?
Reading this question, one might respond, "Who cares?", or, "Why do we need to know this?" Such questions
have created substantial anxiety among students and have, perhaps, even been the cause of nightmares. Critics
would argue that classic "story problems" leave a lasting impression of meaningless efforts to confuse and torment
students, as if they have come from hell's library. Problem-based inquiry, on the other hand, intends to engage
students in relevant, realistic problems. Several changes would need to be made in the above problem to promote
problem-based inquiry. It would first have to be acknowledged that the trains are not, in fact, traveling at constant
rates when they are in motion; negotiating curves or changing tracks at high speeds can result in accidents. Further,
all of the information about the problem cannot be presented to the learner at the outset; that is, some ambiguity
must exist in the context so that students have an opportunity to engage in a problem solving activity. In addition,
the situation should involve a meaningful scenario. Suppose that a person intends to catch a connecting train at the
second station and requires a time-efficient itinerary? What if we are not given data about the trains, but instead,
the outcome of a particular event, such as an accident?
Why should we use problem-based inquiry to help students learn? The American educational system has been
criticized for having an underachieving curriculum that leads students to memorize and regurgitate facts that do
not apply to their lives (Martin, 1987; Paul, 1993). Many claim that the traditional classroom environment, with its
orderly conduct and didactic teaching methods in which the teacher dispenses information, has greatly inhibited
students' opportunities to think critically (Dossey et al., 1988; Goodlad, 1984; Wood, 1987). Problem-based inquiry
is an attempt to overcome these obstacles and confront the concerns presented by the National Assessment of
Educational Progress:
If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance
that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. We have, in effect, been committing an act
of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament. (A Nation at Risk, 1983)
Problem-based inquiry emphasizes learning as a process that involves problem solving and critical thinking in
situated contexts. It provides opportunities to address broader learning goals that focus on preparing students for
active and responsible citizenship. Students gain experience in tackling realistic problems, and emphasis is placed
on using communication, cooperation, and resources to formulate ideas and develop reasoning skills.

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14. Problem-based instruction

What is a framework for a problem-based inquiry? Situated cognition, constructivism, social learning, and
communities of practice are assumed theories of learning and cognition in problem-based inquiry environments.
These theories have common themes about the context and process of learning and are often associated. To provide
a structure and rationale behind problem-based inquiry, some of its prominent characteristics will be discussed in
reference to the scenario presented at the beginning of the chapter.
First, learning events are situated and assume meaning within particular contexts. In other words, learning is
most meaningful and is enhanced when students face a situation in which the concept is immediately applied. For
example, the students in the scenario want to learn about the anatomy and life cycle of a fish because they perceive
that this information might be useful in determining the cause of the fish kill in the Samstonian River. This belief
contradicts many traditional curriculum models, including those using Bloom's Taxonomy, as a basis for creating
instruction. In a traditional biology class, students learn about the anatomy and life cycle of a fish before they
understand how the information might be useful. In problem-based inquiry situations, students are presented with
an application and perform analysis, perhaps even before they know or understand the concepts involved in the
situation. Further, in problem-based inquiry all knowledge and skills in situated environments are directly relevant
to the context; whereas some traditional curricula incorporate basic knowledge and skills that may never be
applied. Varying perspectives about learning are present in this fish example. A proponent of Bloom's Taxonomy
would hold that students will more successfully learn about fish if they first understand facts about its anatomy and
later apply this knowledge in an application such as determining the cause of death through dissection. On the
other hand, an educator with the situated learning perspective believes that students are less likely to make a
connection between book knowledge and application unless they learn about fish anatomy by practical application;
thus, the situated learning perspective suggests that participation is a crucial element in learning.
Another important principle rooted in problem-based inquiry is that definitive answers do not exist
independently of the learner's knowledge and experience. In the fish kill scenario, the teacher has no solution to the
problem and does not guide students to reach that conclusion. Instead, knowledge is constructed within each
individual or community based on the learner's or community's prior knowledge, values, beliefs, and perspectives.
Consequently, a single event or item of information can be perceived differently resulting in multiple
interpretations and understandings. Mr Samples expects students to reach different conclusions, perhaps even
from the same information. However, because the course each group of students chooses to pursue is based on their
values and perceptions, they will likely follow different paths to arrive at their conclusions. This method of learning
differs substantially from instructional models that emphasize the attainment of behavioral objectives as the goal of
learning. Classical behaviorist approaches to instruction emphasize learning as a process by which students acquire
predetermined knowledge and skills, most often structured and guided, step-by-step, by information processing
methods. Constructivist approaches to learning, on the other hand, stress the general strategies and processes to
attain broader goals without relying on specific information or methods that lead to sequential steps in logic and
reasoning. In the fish kill scenario, Mr Samples' primary goal is to help students develop thinking and problem-
solving skills that will empower them to create an argument that reflects their individual research questions and the
overarching problem. In sum, a problem-based inquiry approach is often too complex to resolve by directly guiding
learners to specific pieces of knowledge or an existing solution. Instead, the ideas are generated within the
individual and the community based on their different experiences, the types of information they find, and ways of
understanding that information.

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Problem-based inquiry is also based on a view that learning occurs through social interactions whereby an
outside source can help individuals extend their learning. This frame of reasoning suggests that understanding of
an idea or concept becomes limited at some point and approaches a barrier called the Zone of Proximal
Development. This zone can occur along varying levels of understanding among individuals, depending on the
extent of their expertise. In order to extend understanding past this barrier, the individual must interact with a
person or medium that holds new information, thus allowing new perspectives to arise. In the fish kill scenario, Mr
Harrington and Mr Samples serve as expert sources who promote problem-solving strategies, information-
gathering tactics, and research methodologies that were previously unknown to students. In addition, the teacher
continually identifies potential flaws in student reasoning and uses questioning as a means of extending their
awareness to think about the task in a different way. If Mr Samples does not interact with a group that has
erroneous judgments, the students may not understand that they are making an error until they face a subsequent
interaction that contradicts their logic. For example, the students may eventually find diseased fish in a river with
low toxic levels or listen to another source providing a counter example to the group's argument. In addition to the
teacher's influence on student learning, resources external to the local learning environment—such as information
from a book, an expert opinion on the Internet, or input from the media specialist and biology teacher—contribute
to the development of an evolving framework of ideas. These types of external interactions can help students leave
the Zone of Proximal Development, expand their understanding to develop emerging thoughts, and then repeat the
cycle when learning again ceases to progress. In the complex situations associated with problem-based inquiry,
multiple learning cycles co-exist and develop simultaneously, each emphasizing different concepts or strategies.
Systemically, learning an idea probably does not cease altogether, but instead, fades while understandings of other
concepts are enhanced according to the needs and goals of the individual and learning community.
Lastly, problem-based inquiry values the presence of a learning community. The community takes on a view that
advancement in thinking and addressing the problem occurs through social interactions that emphasize joint
enterprise, shared repertoire, and mutual engagement. Through joint enterprise, the class shares a common goal
(such as solving a problem) whereby each person in that class invests time and energy and is committed to help
accomplish that goal. In order to sustain this interest, students are treated as legitimate participants in the research
process, analysis, and presentation of the findings. That is, even though they are novices at some tasks, Mr Samples
legitimizes their contribution by creating an environment in which students share a common repertoire involving
activities that contribute to the overall findings such as continual inquiry, data collection, problem solving, and
higher-ordered analyses. Furthermore, Mr Samples promotes joint enterprise to address the problem among class
members by fostering mutual engagement. In essence, students are viewed as equal contributors who work together
to solve the problem. Each person's contributions are valued and considered in the overall decision making process.
This type of interaction is often different from traditional classrooms where the teacher's actions and decisions
determine the direction of learning and products that students create. In this setting, the students and the teacher
contribute equally to the content and method of learning in an effort to resolve the overall problem.

Characteristics
The fictitious scenario and activity with Mr Samples' class involving the fish kill near the Nikron plant highlights
some common characteristics in problem-based inquiry instructional models:

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14. Problem-based instruction

• The activity is grounded in a general question about a problem that has multiple possible answers and
methods of addressing the question.
• Learning is student-centered; the teacher acts as facilitator.
• Students work collaboratively toward addressing the general question.
• Learning is driven by the context of the problem and is not bounded by an established curriculum.

Exhibit 7: The problem-based inquiry learning space: The center of PBL is

students working on a problem. Teachers, additional coaches, and other resources
provide guidance and support for the students.

These characteristics will be described in detail, highlighting and reflecting on various actions and events from
the scenario presented at the beginning of the chapter. Exhibit 7 illustrates the relationship between these factors.
Activity is grounded in a general question about a problem that has multiple possible answers
and methods for addressing the question. Each problem has a general question that guides the overall task
followed by ill-structured problems or questions that are generated throughout the problem solving process. That
is, in order to address the larger question, students must derive and investigate smaller problems or questions that
relate to the findings and implications of the broader goal. The problems or questions thus created are most likely
new to the students and lack known definitive methods or answers that have been predetermined by the teacher. In
the killed fish scenario, students derive four questions to address the main problem of determining whether the
factory is polluting the water supply. There are multiple means of addressing these questions depending on the
available resources and strategies that the students employ. Further, their list of questions is not necessarily
comprehensive. As they collect information and data in their research, they may realize that there are other
questions or issues that should be included in their list. The quality of their conclusions to the overall problem in
the mock trial depends on how well the students synthesize information and develop an argument based on their
findings from the smaller questions.
Learning is student-centered; the teacher acts as facilitator. In essence, the teacher creates an
environment where students take ownership in the direction and content of their learning. In the scenario, Mr
Samples gives the students the overall problem and asks them to define the means by which they should address it.
The students develop subquestions to investigate, suggest methods to collect data, and propose a format for
presenting their findings. For example, the group investigating the types and quantities of toxins present in the

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Samstonian River determined that they should collect samples from various locations in the river. The teacher's
role, in this case, is to help provide access to this resource by arranging a field trip to the river. He and the media
specialist also encourage students to use other resources such as historical data, books, the Internet, and experts, to
help support their arguments. In addition to creating learning opportunities for the students, the teacher manages
the overall structure and progress of the activity ensuring that students submit proposals, methods, and results. As
a manager, Mr Samples is aware of the different strategies and content each group is investigating, he also assumes
the responsibility of recommending peer consultations with members of other groups. Mr Samples and Mr
Harrington's consultation with groups is also important because they focus on teaching the processes and strategies
associated with information gathering, research, and problem solving. In effect, this cognitive mentorship helps
students organize the direction of their learning as well as understand how their strategies connect to the broader
goal of solving the overall problem.
Students work collaboratively towards addressing the general question. Mr Samples facilitates
this type of environment by emphasizing the existence and development of a learning community. All of the
students work together to attain the shared goal of producing a solution to the problem. Mr Samples creates an
environment in which mutual reliance gives students an active voice and a contribution toward reaching the goal.
For example, students take on individual responsibilities such as finding information and resources, making
calculations, and performing analyses in coordination and collaboration with the direction and ideas of the group.
As a consequence, group progress depends on each individual's contribution. On a larger scale, groups take on
similar responsibilities by addressing their research questions but not exclusive of the learning community, because
groups rely on each other for consultation about their strategies and findings. For example, the group addressing
the cause of death of the fish in the Samstonian River needed information from the group that studied the different
toxins present in the river. Consequently, the groups co-depend on each other's performance and contributions in
order to make their own advances in reasoning toward answering the research questions and the overall problem.
Learning is driven by the context of the problem and is not bound by an established
curriculum. In this environment, students determine what and how much they need to learn in order to
accomplish a specific task. Consequently, acquired information and learned concepts and strategies are tied directly
to the context of the learning situation. For example, in the chapter scenario, the students who are trying to explain
the dead fish decide that they need to learn more about the fish species' life cycle and diseases before they begin the
dissection process. The teacher's responsibility in this case is not to act as an expert and dispense knowledge to the
students but to serve as a facilitator, manager, and strategist providing consultation and access to resources.
Because the students have generated the research questions, Mr Samples does not expect to be able to answer all of
their content questions; thus, the locus of learning responsibility is placed in the hands of the students. He believes
that an external resource, such as information from a library, another teacher, a media specialist, or an expert
source on the Internet can help advance the students' thinking and understanding. Consequently, learning is not
confined to a preset curriculum. The teacher does not define the topics of learning based on his knowledge of
chemistry and expects that learning will incorporate multidisciplinary components, such as principles of biology,
mathematics, and rhetoric.
The Samstonian River killed fish scenario does include some elements that are not necessarily present in all
problem-based inquiry models, such as a problem that has direct implications on the local community, and student
access to resources outside the classroom. These additional factors may create more relevance and influence

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14. Problem-based instruction

student motivation for learning; however, they may not be included in other problem-based scenarios, because
subject areas such as history and geography are not always immediately relevant. For example, the question, "How
should ballots in Florida have been counted during the 2000 presidential election?" could be the foundation for a
problem-based inquiry activity that has no immediate bearing on the local population as the students may not live
in Florida or have access to Florida research sources. Regardless, this question is based on evaluating a historical
outcome that cannot influence the actual results unlike the problem posed at the beginning of the chapter; however,
students' analysis in both questions has relevance because a presentation of their findings can influence society's
future thoughts and actions.
Creation of a final product is not a necessary requirement of all problem-based inquiry models. In the killed fish
example, the teacher assigns the students the creation of a proposal for a product that will later serve as evidence in
a mock trial. Project-based learning models most often include this type of product as an integral part of the
learning process, because learning is expected to occur primarily in the act of creating something. Unlike problem-
based inquiry models, project-based learning does not necessarily address a real-world problem, nor does it focus
on providing argumentation for resolution of an issue. In a problem-based inquiry setting, there is greater emphasis
on problem-solving, analysis, resolution, and explanation of an authentic dilemma. Sometimes this analysis and
explanation is represented in the form of a project, but it can also take the form of verbal debate and written
summary.

Instructional models and applications

There is no single method for designing problem-based inquiry learning environments. Various techniques have
been used to generate the problem and stimulate learning. Promoting student-ownership, using a particular
medium to focus attention, telling stories, simulating and recreating events, and utilizing resources and data on the
Internet are among them. Three instructional models that implement problem-based inquiry will be discussed next
with particular attention to instructional strategies and practical examples.

Problem-Based Learning
Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy in which students actively resolve complex problems
in realistic situations. It can be used to teach individual lessons, units, or even entire curricula. PBL is often
approached in a team environment with emphasis on building skills related to consensual decision making,
dialogue and discussion, team maintenance, conflict management, and team leadership. While the fundamental
approach of problem solving in situated environments has been used throughout the history of schooling, the term
PBL did not appear until the 1970s and was devised as an alternative approach to medical education. In most
medical programs, students initially take a series of fact intensive courses in biology and anatomy and then
participate in a field experience as a medical resident in a hospital or clinic. However, Barrows
(http://www.pbli.org/faculty/hsb.htm) reported that, unfortunately, medical residents frequently had difficulty
applying knowledge from their classroom experiences in work-related, problem-solving situations. He argued that
the classical framework of learning medical knowledge first in classrooms through studying and testing was too
passive and removed from context to take on meaning. Consequently, PBL was first seen as a medical field
immersion experience whereby students learned about their medical specialty through direct engagement in
realistic problems and gradual apprenticeship in natural or simulated settings. Problem solving is emphasized as an

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initial area of learning and development in PBL medical programs more so than memorizing a series of facts
outside their natural context.
In addition to the field of medicine, PBL is used in many areas of education and training. In academic courses,
PBL is used as a tool to help students understand the utility of a particular concept or study. For example, students
may learn about recycling and materials as they determine methods that will reduce the county landfill problem. In
addition, alternative education programs have been created with a PBL emphasis to help at-risk students learn in a
different way through partnerships with local businesses and government. In vocational education, PBL
experiences often emphasize participation in natural settings. For example, students in architecture address the
problem of designing homes for impoverished areas. Many of the residents need safe housing and cannot afford to
purchase typical homes. Consequently, students learn about architectural design and resolving the problem as they
construct homes made from recycled materials. In business and the military, simulations are used as a means of
instruction in PBL. The affective and physiological stress associated with warfare can influence strategic planning,
so PBL in military settings promotes the use of "war games" as a tactic for facing authentic crises. In business
settings, simulations of "what if" scenarios are used to train managers in various strategies and problem-solving
approaches to conflict resolution. In both military and business settings, the simulation is a tool that provides an
opportunity to not only address realistic problems but to learn from mistakes in a more forgiving way than in an
authentic context.

Exhibit 8: The PBL learning space: Problem-based learning (PBL) is an

instructional strategy where students actively resolve complex problems in realistic
situations. Click here for exhibit location

Designing the learning environment

The following elements are commonly associated with PBL activities.
Problem generation: The problems must address concepts and principles relevant to the content domain.
Problems are not investigated by students solely for problem solving experiences but as a means of understanding
the subject area. Some PBL activities incorporate multidisciplinary approaches, assuming the teacher can provide
and coordinate needed resources such as additional content, instructional support, and other teachers. In addition,
the problems must relate to real issues that are present in society or students' lives. Contrived scenarios detract
from the perceived usefulness of a concept.
Problem presentation: Students must "own" the problem, either by creating or selecting it. Ownership also
implies that their contributions affect the outcome of solving the problem. Thus, more than one solution and more

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14. Problem-based instruction

than one method of achieving a solution to the problem are often possible. Furthermore, ownership means that
students take responsibility for representing and communicating their work in a unique way. Predetermined
formats of problem structure and analysis towards resolution are not recommended; however, the problem should
be presented such that the information in the problem does not call attention to critical factors in the case that will
lead to immediate resolution. Ownership also suggests that students will ask further questions, reveal further
information, and synthesize critical factors throughout the problem-solving process.
Teacher role: Teachers act primarily as cognitive coaches by facilitating learning and modeling higher order
thinking and meta cognitive skills. As facilitators, teachers give students control over how they learn and provide
support and structure in the direction of their learning. They help the class create a common framework of
expectations using tools such as general guidelines and time lines. As cognitive modelers, teachers think aloud
about strategies and questions that influence how students manage the progress of their learning and accomplish
group tasks. In addition, teachers continually question students about the concepts they are learning in the context
of the problem in order to probe their understanding, challenge their thinking, and help them deepen or extend
their ideas.
Student role: Students first define or select an ill-structured problem that has no obvious solution. They
develop alternative hypotheses to resolve the problem and discuss and negotiate their conjectures in a group. Next,
they access, evaluate, and utilize data from a variety of available sources to support or refute their hypotheses. They
may alter, develop, or synthesize hypotheses in light of new information. Finally, they develop clearly stated
solutions that fit the problem and its inherent conditions, based upon information and reasoning to support their
arguments. Solutions can be in the form of essays, presentations, or projects.

An online example
Crime and Punishment: Case Negotiation in the Criminal Justice System
http://www.udel.edu/inst/problems/negotiations/
In this activity, students are asked to resolve a court case related to a drunk driving accident. The defendant,
Sam Sad, ran a red light into oncoming traffic and killed a passenger who was not wearing his seatbelt. Students are
asked to play the roles of the prosecutor, defense attorney, victim, and defendant, and to determine a course of
action for this case. They weigh the evidence and issue a negotiated plea, a decision to drop some or all charges, or a
decision to go to trial on the original or reduced charges. To assist them in their role playing, the students are given
a paragraph of information about the different roles that they are to assume.
Groups are asked to discuss the following questions before role playing:
• What legal issues will be involved in this case?
• What evidence will be important?
• What more do you need to know to negotiate a resolution to this case?
After students assume their roles, they meet in smaller teams to address different options and strategies. They
are provided with the following set of focusing questions to help formulate their ideas:
• What are your interests and priorities in the upcoming negotiation?
• What do you need to learn to be an effective negotiator for this case?
• What sources might you consult to develop this knowledge?
• How will you allocate the responsibilities within your team to develop the required knowledge?

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A list of online resources related to legal advice and drunk driving is available for students to use in gathering
information to create and support their arguments.
The teams reconvene and identify their interests based on their findings, and then negotiate a resolution to the
case.

Anchored instruction
Anchored instruction is a framework for learning that emphasizes complex problem solving in integrated
learning contexts. Integrated learning contexts take on the form of drawing realistic connections, making learning
meaningful for students, and forming connections within and between content domains. Learning and teaching
activities are designed around an "anchor" which is often a story, adventure, or situation that includes a problem or
issue to be resolved and that is of interest to the students. Instructional materials include resources students can
easily explore, such as video discs or interactive computer simulations, as they decide how to solve a problem. An
anchored instruction activity supports learning opportunities that relate to and extend thinking to other content
areas.
The term anchored instruction was coined by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV) from
their work in the Jasper Woodbury Adventure Series
(http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/projects/funded/jasper/default.html). In these activities, students view a story that
ultimately leads to a dilemma the students need to resolve. The story serves as an anchor to ground their initial
ideas, formulate strategies to solve the problem, and later as a source of information. Students primarily use middle
grades mathematics to solve problems in the context of settings from other domains, such as science and history.
Solving the larger problem often requires that students generate subquestions that help guide or support their
thinking. They review parts of the story to find information that will support these smaller questions and then use
additional resources to acquire information or skills to help them answer their questions. For example, if the goal of
the main problem is to find a way to rescue an injured eagle using a lightweight glider, then students might need to
calculate the mass of both the eagle and the plane's pilot, and determine a relationship between the mass in the
plane and its capacity for air travel.
Anchored instruction activities have been used in a variety of contexts outside of mathematical problem solving
and the CTGV. The Voyage of the Mimi is a series of adventure stories in which a scientist and teenaged assistants
explore humpback whales and then later a Mayan civilization. Anchored instruction has been useful in teacher
education programs where technology training has been investigated in problem-solving situations by use of
various multimedia tools. Other educators have used movie trailers and sports videos, along with their transcripts,
as a mechanism to learn about language and creative writing.

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14. Problem-based instruction

Exhibit 9: The Anchored Instruction learning space: Anchored

instruction focuses on an 'anchor' that includes an interesting problem.
Through teacher guidance and the use of additional resources that require
student exploration, student learning experiences can be extended to other
areas of the curriculum.

Designing the learning environment

The following stages are commonly associated with anchored instruction activities:
Introduce the anchor. Create a situation, story, or experience with information that will engage students in a
complex problem. Students should feel that their problem-solving will serve a purpose, such as contributing to the
story line by helping someone else or themselves. The presentation medium should be flexible enough to allow
students to easily search for information; thus, video discs are more efficient than videotape, and hypertext is
preferable to regular text.
Develop a shared experience around the anchor. Students revisit the story or engage in activities and
become more familiar with and knowledgeable about a particular concept. The teacher might initially provide more
guidance in acquiring the concept, but ultimately, students assume control over the application of the concept to
resolve a smaller problem within the actual story line.
Expand the anchor. Students are given more autonomy to do independent or group research to clarify and
locate hidden or missing information relevant to the problem. The information may be in the storyline itself or in
related external resources.
Use knowledge as tools for problem solving. Students use the information or clues in the anchor and
develop a plan to resolve the larger problem. They may need to ask subquestions in order to discern additional
information or patterns that will help complete the overall task. Throughout this phase, the teacher probes
students' understanding and challenges students' strategies to examine their reasoning and scaffold the problem-
solving process.
Work on projects related to anchor. Students explore related content presented in the anchor to deepen
their understanding of the concepts and to connect their knowledge to other disciplines. They might read more
about the subject area, explore a related story, engage in a related simulation, create a project, or design a web site.
Share what was learned. Students present their findings on the problem as well as connections to their
extended learning. This phase allows students to make contributions to the learning community by sharing the

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strategies used to resolve the overall problem. The teacher should emphasize alternative problem solving methods,
as well as common themes, among the different groups to help synthesize and broaden understanding.
WebQuests
A WebQuest is a web-based, inquiry-oriented activity through which students examine evidence about a
particular topic and then respond to an issue or make a decision from a particular point of view. The activity is
grounded in an open-ended question based on a realistic event or applied context that can facilitate multiple
reactions or viewpoints. WebQuests often address problems, but often simply attempt to promote awareness and
representation by activities such as producing a variety show that captures the life behind people in the Harlem
Renaissance. Students use a series of links compiled by the teacher to learn about the overarching question while
gathering evidence that will support their arguments or defend their point of view. The WebQuest site designed by
Bernie Dodge includes examples of model classroom projects and training materials to aid in the design of
instructional materials.
An electronic support community (http://webquest.org/) is available to reinforce understanding, promote
collaboration, and provide individualized assistance in the design and implementation process of WebQuest
activities. There is also a resource for a fee to help you build webquests and house them on a server. It is a very nice
resource for a nominal fee. It is called QuestGarden and is available at http://webquest.org/questgarden/author/
Teachers can participate in a synchronous chat environment in a shared meeting place to consult with experts or
share and debate views about learning and design. In addition, they can also pose questions about WebQuest
development or collaborate in activities by subscribing to an electronic listserv. Teachers seeking guidance or
feedback on their WebQuest design may also submit their activities for review.

Exhibit 10: The WebQuest learning space: Teachers provide students with a
series of Internet links for solving a given problem. The problem is solved as the
students create a final product. Click Here For Exhibit Location

WebQuests follow a recommended design structure which includes an introduction, a task, a process for
accomplishing the task, web resources, an evaluation rubric, and a conclusion. This design is intended to support
the development of a WebQuest without restricting creativity in the appearance and content of the activity. That is,
within the structure, teachers can create a wide range of tasks including developing an argument based on a
perspective, interacting with an expert, analyzing data, or designing a plan. Teachers are provided a variety of tools
throughout the creation process, including aids for search techniques, creation of evaluation rubrics, web page
design strategies, task characteristics, and checklists for monitoring progress.

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14. Problem-based instruction

Designing the learning environment

The following elements are commonly associated with WebQuest activities.
Introduction: Background information is provided and context for the activity is set. The problem or
controversy and its origin are discussed.
Task: An interesting question or dilemma with multiple interpretations is created. Students can take on their
own perspective or role-play to find strategies to defend a particular position. In this section, the goal and purpose
of the activity are outlined so that students understand what they are expected to accomplish by completing the
activity.
Process: The steps learners should consider to accomplish the goals of the activity are described. General
strategies are reviewed about finding useful resources, organizing information, interacting and forming conclusions
with team members, and using guidelines for a final presentation or product. The teacher provides guidance
through questions that will help students think about the situation and reflect on their roles, but excessive structure
that could limit student creativity and extensions should be avoided.
Resources: Links are provided to external web resources that will help students think about different factors
and perspectives that influence the overall problem. These links should be organized or annotated so that students
understand the type of information each link provides. Additional sources can be suggested, if available, such as
access to expert sources or periodicals that may not be available online.
Evaluation: A grading rubric is created so that students understand what is expected of them and how they
will be assessed. Both the students' products and processes in the activity might be included as part of the grading
scheme. Products may include the content of a project, argument in a presentation, and quality of supporting work.
Process can include research strategies, organization, and collaborative effort.
Conclusion: The learning experience is summarized and student accomplishments are reviewed; students are
reminded of what they have learned through the activity. The boundaries of the activity may be extended by asking
reflection and extension questions for students to consider for further potential learning pursuits. Connections are
drawn to students' lives, current events, or related topics in the curriculum.

An online example
Searching for China http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/ChinaQuest.html
In this activity, students examine the foreign policy tensions between the US and China and then propose a plan
that benefits people from both countries. Students are placed into groups that must investigate and present the
issues from the viewpoints of various interested parties such as business investors, human rights activists, and
United States senators. Each group develops an action plan that will address foreign policy based on a negotiation
of their assigned perspectives. Developing such a report requires that they acquire an understanding of foreign
relations with China from these different roles and then gather evidence to create a compromise plan that will
reflect all of the principals' perspectives. Their group reports are to present their values while addressing issues
such as spiritual understanding, world peace, economic growth, and preservation of cultural treasures.
The web site provides a list of links for exploring diverse Chinese issues. Students are asked to spend about 30
minutes assembling background information on China from one of the sites and then to meet in groups to share
and address the most important issues they have found from each of the sites. After the discussions, their individual
roles are explored in detail by examining their dossiers and answering a series of reflection questions. For example,

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a museum curator will investigate the question, "What is happening to Tibetan culture?" by exploring three related
web sources and inferring a theme common to all of the resources referred to as "one truth". After answering a set
of questions in this format, the students summarize their findings by formulating an action plan statement that
represents their point of view such as "What should be done to preserve cultural treasures?" When students have
explored their individual roles, they generate a group report supporting a negotiation of their values in the form of a
unified plan. The group is asked to address the major issues in the foreign policy agreement and how they might
impact other goals. Students develop a set of resolutions based on these arguments and then make a prediction for
potential outcomes and future prosperity.
Students then submit their reports for feedback from a variety of sources such as electronic bulletin boards or
even public officials (the author recommends that teachers check with their school's policy before pursuing this
action). The WebQuest concludes with a summary of the learning activity and issues to further think about such as
the differences in the countries' populations, history, and political systems. The conclusion focuses on the students'
success in addressing and reasoning through a complex task as well as being empowered with strategies to research
and resolve difficult issues.

Conclusions and implications

Problem-based inquiry approaches to learning provide students with strategies and experiences that empower
them to become critical consumers of information and tackle authentic problems through group problem-solving.
While these attributes help students prepare for active citizenship in a rapidly changing world, the structure of most
schools often hinders the implementation of problem-based inquiry models. Pragmatic factors such as class period
length, access to resources, standardized testing issues, and the activities in a typical school day affect what is
learned. Cultural factors, such as the student-teacher relationship, the teacher and text as expert sources, and
student responsibility affect how learning occurs. Thus, several implications arise concerning the need to
restructure education in order to fully adopt and obtain the learning benefits associated with problem-based
inquiry.
The school day should provide students with opportunities to explore ideas in greater depth. Students in many
middle and high schools take five to eight courses that last from forty to sixty minutes each. This class structure
encourages learning content in segmented blocks through information processing approaches. As a consequence,
the curriculum is faced with emphasizing breadth of content whereby new ideas are taught each day in a linear
fashion based on the concept introduced the previous day. On the other hand, real-world problems such as those
addressed in a problem-based inquiry model, incorporate concepts that do not necessarily lie along a
predetermined pathway of knowledge and skills. Greater attention is given to fewer concepts that have direct
relevance to students' lives. More time is needed to allow opportunities to explore complex situations in depth.
Even though real-world problems are not resolved in a single day, a school day with larger blocks of time better
supports approaches to problem-based inquiry. Implementing problem-based inquiry in a system with short class
periods ultimately derails the momentum of learning because students must continually start, stop, and recall
information and procedures more frequently.
Standardized tests should also incorporate complex real-world problems in order to be more comprehensive as
assessment instruments. If one of the goals of education is to prepare students for a productive workforce, and
modern business engages employees in complex projects that require higher-ordered thinking, then the educational

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14. Problem-based instruction

system is obligated to make provisions that embody these skills in ubiquitous assessment instruments. Because the
scores of standardized tests are sometimes, unfortunately, used to measure learning and the success of a school,
test content and question types send a message to teachers and students about what type of learning is valued. The
majority of questions on most standardized tests target lower-ordered thinking skills and can be answered in less
than one minute. While these questions assess what students understand and what they can recall, the tests often
do not allow students to express their problem-solving and critical thinking abilities in novel situations. Test
creators are discouraged from creating questions that require higher-ordered thinking questions for many reasons.
Such problems take longer to answer and grade; they potentially reduce reliability due to partially subjective
grading in essay responses; and they affect the validity of test scores when fewer questions are asked. In light of
these challenges, unfortunately, few instructional practices will change toward addressing societal goals until they
are reinforced on nation wide standardized tests.
Finally, teachers must rethink their roles from instructor to facilitator and collaborator. Generally, teachers
determine what and how students learn from their subject-area knowledge and from primary sources such as
textbooks. An advantage to this situation is that students receive similar learning experiences that can be accurately
and consistently measured according to a series of objectives; however, learning in these situations is based on the
teachers', and textbook authors', values regarding which topics are important. Furthermore, the learning
environment in this situation is bounded by these sources, neglecting opportunities for continued exploration or
deeper analysis using other sources, such as technological tools, Internet references, students, and teachers. When
solving real-world problems, additional resources expand opportunities for students to present varying perspectives
that are not necessarily tied to the views of the instructor. Hence, in inquiry-based environments, teachers should
relinquish some control over content. Teachers need to recognize that students may not naturally develop, believe,
or accept their particular arguments or points of view. Also, in a problem-based inquiry approach, students must be
given greater control over the direction and content of their learning. If teachers accept students as equal
contributors to the learning community, then less emphasis will be placed on teacher-presented information.
Instead, teachers can then take responsibility for facilitating learning so that analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and
extension of information by students assume its proper role.

Questions
The following questions are an effort to reflect upon, explore, and extend the concepts presented in this chapter.
➢ Consider the scenario presented at the beginning of the chapter. If this type of event occurred in your
local neighborhood or school, do you think the chemistry teacher should engage in this type of
activity? Would your opinion change if your child was in the chemistry class? If not, why not? If so,
what would you change about his instructional methods?
➢ Should all teachers use problem-based inquiry as a method of instruction?
➢ Which of the three instructional models presented in this chapter most closely aligns with your
teaching philosophy? Explain why.
➢ Find an interesting web-based activity that you think employs problem-based inquiry. Note the URL
and explain why it is a problem-based inquiry activity. Also, discuss why this particular activity
appeals to you.

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➢ Can every real-world problem be addressed through a problem-based inquiry instructional model?
Explain why or why not, citing examples.
➢ A large number of frogs are becoming deformed around the country. The Deformed Frogs Mystery
project examines whether the deformation is a result of parasites or environmental chemicals. Is this
activity an example of problem-based inquiry? If so, which instructional model, if any, is used in this
learning environment?
➢ Choose one of the instructional models and describe how the learning environment would change if a
different instructional model were used. For example, suppose the problem-based learning activity
about the litigation in the drunk driving case used a different instructional model, such as anchored
instruction or a WebQuest. How would the resources, instruction, and student activities change with
this new model while still addressing the same problem(s) of determining an appropriate resolution
to the case?
➢ Problem-based inquiry instructional models support learning as a social process that involves
student construction of ideas. How would the instructional strategies and the learning environment
change if learning did not take place in a social setting, such as in a home schooling setting? How
would the instructional strategies and the learning environment change if learning did not involve
the student's construction of ideas?
➢ The implications of this chapter suggest that schools need to be restructured in order to experience
all of the benefits of problem-based inquiry. Suppose a school day or particular curriculum cannot
change immediately. For example, class periods are fifty minutes in length, classroom resources are
restricted to the library, the curriculum among a group of teachers is driven by the context of a
textbook, etc. In this situation, is it possible to engage students in a problem-based inquiry activity?
If not, explain why not. If so, what restrictions or limitations are placed in this type of situation that
affect learning and learning outcomes?
➢ What are some of the weaknesses and limitations of using problem-based inquiry as a means of
instruction?

References
Dossey, J., Mullis, I., Lindquist, M., & Champbers, D. (1988). The mathematics report card: Are we
measuring up? Trends and achievement based on the 1986 national assessment. Princeton, NJ:
Educational Testing Service.
Goodlad, J. L. (1984). A place called school. New York: McGraw Hill.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Martin, L. M. (1987). Teachers adoption of multimedia technologies for science and mathematics instruction.
In R. D. Pea & K. Sheingold (Eds.) Mirrors of minds: Patterns of experience in educational computing.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A Nation at Risk. Washington, D. C.: U.S.
Department of Education.

Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology 158 A Global Text

 Emerging Perspectives on
Learning,Teaching, and Technology
Emerging Perspectives on
Learning, Teaching, and
Technology

Michael Orey

Copyright © 2010 Micheel Orey

For any questions about this text, please email: [email protected]

Editor-In-Chief Michael Orey

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The Global Text Project is funded by the Jacobs Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland.

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