Assembling and Analyzing the Building Blocks of Problem‐Based Learning Environments

Assessing Metacognitive Awareness during Problem-Solving in a Kinetics and Homogeneous Reactor Design Course

“…Problem solving is a schema-based activity [1][2][3]9 . That is, in order to solve problems, learners must construct schemas for problems.…”

“…Learning to solve problems requires practice in solving problems, not learning about problem solving 2 . PSLEs assume that learners must engage with problems and attempt to construct schemas of problems, learn about their complexity, and mentally wrestle with alternative solutions 2,9 . Hence, we built PSLEs to engage and support students in learning how to solve problems by practicing solving problems 3 .…”

Implementing Problem-solving Learning Environments in a Kinetics and Homogeneous Reactor Design Course

“…Problems vary in different ways, so different kinds of problems call on different conceptions and skills [2][3][4] . Based on those differences among problems, different kinds of IQ-407 problems were developed such as story problems, decision-making problems, troubleshooting, strategic performance problems, and design problems.…”

“…Based on those differences among problems, different kinds of IQ-407 problems were developed such as story problems, decision-making problems, troubleshooting, strategic performance problems, and design problems. Since there exist different kinds of problems, which call on different skills, learning methods should also vary 3,4 . That is why special attention was given to the building blocks (cases) of our problem-solving learning environments (PSLEs), since the intellectual functions of cases vary and consequently they support different kinds of problem solving 3,4 .…”

“…Since there exist different kinds of problems, which call on different skills, learning methods should also vary 3,4 . That is why special attention was given to the building blocks (cases) of our problem-solving learning environments (PSLEs), since the intellectual functions of cases vary and consequently they support different kinds of problem solving 3,4 . Furthermore, students develop metacognitive skills along the problem solving process, which is as important as finding the right problem solution; metacognition is the ability to understand, monitor and regulate our own learning process 5 .…”