Toward an Understanding of Development of Learning to Solve Ill-Defined Problems in an Online Context: A Multi-Year Qualitative Exploratory Study

Abstract

The case study is a classic tool used in several educational programs that emphasizes solving of illdefined problems. Though it has been used in classroom-based teaching and educators have developed a rich repertoire of methods, its use in online courses presents different challenges. To explore factors that develop skills in solving ill-defined problems, I present results of a seven-year study seeking to develop tools for facilitating and assessing skills for case studies in an online graduate class. This study began with the introduction of a classroom-based case method into an online graduate class. Over the following years, I used three sources of data to make changes to the design of the course with respect to case studies: feedback from students, feedback from colleagues, and measurement of student performance. Findings suggest the following general approaches may work better in online classes involving case studies in particular, and more broadly in courses that teach solving of ill-defined problems: 1) immersion (or the use of drills) to support trial and error learning especially given the additional distractions of an online setting as compared to attending classes on campus; 2) structure to facilitate learning as it involves building skills based on absorptive capacity that students acquire from skills learned earlier; 3) social learning to enhance trial and error learning; 4) inductive learning that may be more appropriate to online teaching as compared to deductive learning; 5) provision of structure instead of participation by the instructor may encourage self-discovery of methods to solve ill-defined problems in an online context.

How Group Size and Structure of Online Discussion Forums Influence Student Engagement and Learning

“…The artifacts produced will be an embodiment as well as evidence of learning. The study of such collaborative use of online discussion forums is sparse, and the subject has only begun to be explored,for example, Peddibhotla (2016).…”

“…While there are many advantages of online discussions compared with face-to-face class discussions, there are many challenges in teaching problem-solving skills to students (Peddibhotla, 2016): (a) a lack of synchronous face-to-face communication; (b) an increased focus on written, formal presentation of thoughts; (c) a lack of social cues among participants; and (d) the presence of multiple, simultaneous threads of conversations.…”

Total Cost Analysis in Logistics : Practical Execution, Learning, and Teaching in Higher Education

“…Karagiorgi and Symeou (2005) argue that such problems help students generate new knowledge, for example by learning to distil relevant information from irrelevant (Tang, 2019). Savery (2006) and Peddibhotla (2016) pinpoint that the starting point in such problems is to identify what the problem really is, something which reflects reality well. The importance of problem identification is highlighted by Marsick and O'Neil (1999):…”

“…Teaching cases can be designed in many ways, limited or extensive in scope, and used in as well as outside classroom settings. Cases should relate theory to practice (Jennings, 2002), support the acquiring of problem-solving skills (Bootsma et al, 2014), and apply learning from previous courses (Peddibhotla, 2016). However, not all researchers are in favour of case teaching.…”

Effect Size of Blended Learning Model in Improving Students' Science Competence

“…When designing Blended Learning, the concepts that need to be considered are mixing synchronous and asynchronous interactions, planning learning time, and accuracy in combining technology. According to Peddibhotla (2016), asynchronous forums are commonly used in online learning in general and describe methods for conducting discussions.…”